KEY LARGO, Fla. (WFLA) — Boaters in Key Largo stumbled upon a rare sight in the Florida Keys: a pod of orcas.

Mike Slaughter said he was fishing with some friends Saturday morning when he noticed several birds in the distance and decided to check it out.

That’s when he spotted six or seven orcas having breakfast in the waters off Key Largo.

“At one point one of the orcas came out of the water and had a huge piece of meat in his mouth, you could smell it, it was really cool,” Slaughter told WTVJ. “Our boat is 37 feet and one of them was more than half the length of the boat and as big and round as the boat. It was definitely intimidating.”

Marine Biologist Gerard Loisel told the news station that Slaughter’s encounter wasn’t the first near Florida.

“It’s not like it never happens, but it’s rare,” he said. “Especially down this far, they prefer colder waters so it’s unusual for them to occur this far south, but it’s happened before.”

Slaughter said the experience was one that he and his friends won’t soon forget.