A mysterious and majestic snow orca has appeared on a Vancouver beach

If you were walking along Jericho Beach in Vancouver this weekend, you may have spotted a majestic orca emerging near the ocean.

At first glance, the orca appears to be real, but when you get a little closer, you can see it’s been masterfully sculpted out of snow and charcoal.

The genius behind the realistic snow orca (which has been coined “snorca” by its online fans) is Aaron Cambrin.

Aaron Cambrin/Facebook

The Vancouverite told Daily Hive that he’s been heading to Jericho over the past few years when the snowy conditions are just right to create his masterpieces.

“Basically, it’s been once a year, whenever good snowfall and when the snow is just right to make the structure,” he explained, noting that his most recent creation took about seven hours to build.

“But for others, such as my very first one, I made two … it took me well over 10 hours,” he added.

In the past, his orcas have been sculpted out of snow and sand, but this time around, Cambrin said he found some burnt wood on the beach. He rubbed the charred wood on the snow to add shading to depict the whale’s dark colouring.

What may come as a surprise is that Cambrin doesn’t do any planning or sketching before he starts sculpting.

“I just wing it,” he said.

Aaron Cambrin stands next to his snow orca

Cambrin added that the “artist thing is just a hobby” as he works as a dishwasher by day.

While creating snow orcas is his passion project, they tend to get a lot of attention online, as many social media users have commended the Vancouverite for his artistry and creativity.

Someone posted a picture of Cambrin’s latest snow orca on the Vancouver subreddit, and many folks claimed they thought it was a real whale at first.

Beautiful snow Orca (snorca??) at Jericho Beach.
byu/Sodass invancouver

“I for real thought this was an orca trapped frozen in the ice,” said one Redditor.

“I thought that was a real orca breaching through snow-covered surf,” added another.