This is the breathtaking moment a pod of orca whales was spotted jumping from the ocean.

A photographer captured the animals swimming at high speed during her tour in Hokkaido, Japan, on June 17.

Footage shows the orcas synchronously gliding into the water.

The filmer said: 'In 15 years of photographing orcas in Rausu, this is the first time I've seen them. I'm grateful to the staff of the Rausu tourist boat for showing it to us.'

Despite being called ‘killer whales', orcas are not whales but the largest species of oceanic dolphins. They are highly intelligent and social animals, often living in groups called pods, which can consist of up to 40 individuals.

They hunt cooperatively and swimming in pods at high speed allows them to work together to herd, chase, and overwhelm prey, such as schools of fish, seals, or even large marine mammals like whales.