Orca tosses seal 'way up' in rare mid-hunt sighting

A B.C. whale watching company and their video production crewwere treated tothe whale-sightingof a lifetime on Friday.

Eagle Wing Tours and Roll Focus Productionscaptured a rare glimpse of a transientOrcaflipping a harbour seal, in what's estimated to be at least18 metres into the air,while hunting off the coast of Victoria B.C.

• Killer whale feeding frenzy surprises B.C. paddle boarder
• Orca pod surrounds kayaker near San Juan Island
• 'Grandma' orca seen with calf, 6th born to endangered pod in 2015

Brett Soberg, the co-owner of the tour company, says in18 years of whale watching, he's only witnessedsomething like it four times but this was "the best" of those experiences and fortunately, hehappened to have a camera on-hand.

"Oh I was just like a kid in candy store ... absolute, true elation," said Sobergwho emphasised how rare it was to be there at the "right time, at the right moment".

Soberg and his teamhad set out to capture vignettesof B.C.'s spectacular wildlife using drones.

Theysawthree podsof killer whalesswimming nearRace Rocks Ecological Reserve, off the coast of Victoria,via live webcamand decided to follow them.

Near the end of thetrip, they came acrossflocks ofmarine birds "chowing down"on herring.

One of the large maleOrcas, which Sobergidentified asT69,switched directions,headed straight into the feedingfrenzyandtowards his prey.

"You see in the video where he goes upside down and attempts once, twice and third time was the charm," saidSoberg recalling the physical powerof the killer whale.

"He just grabbed that little harbour seal and he just chucked that little guy way up in the air."

After T69 stunned the seal, a female Orca and two offspring with him,shared in the afternoon snack.