‘Extremely Rare’: Orcas seen hunting minke whale off California coast
Whale watchers in Monterey Bay captured footage of what they say is an extremely rare occurrence: a pod of orcas hunting minke whales.
Video shared with KTLA shows the orcas giving chase to a minke whale, taking turns attacking it and then feasting on its carcass.
Citing data from the California Killer Whale Project, officials said it’s only the sixth documented time in almost 40 years that orcas were witnessed to successfully prey upon minke whale.
“Once they successfully predated the minke whale, all the family groups shared the prey amongst each other, even several little calves only a few months old were feasting,” said Evan Brodsky of Monterey Bay Whale Watch, the whale watching company that captured the rare footage.
After the successful hunt, Brodsky said many of the orcas could be seen breaching (lunging in the air), slapping their tails and spy-hopping, which is when a whale or orca holds itself vertical and peeks its head out from the water.
Monterey Bay Whale Watch is a whale watching tour company based in Monterey Bay that says its tours are led by marine biologists who focus on conservation, collecting data and educating the public about the diverse wildlife of Monterey Bay.
Brodsky said researchers have been able to identify many of the killer whale families that took part in the hunt and are working to identify others.
“This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for so many people, including researchers,” Brodsky said.
Orcas, aka killer whales, have earned their moniker by being tenacious and efficient killers of the sea. They feed mostly on fish, small marine mammals and seabirds, but there are also documented cases of them going after much bigger animals.
In 2022, scientists witnessed for the very first time orcas attacking and killing a blue whale — the biggest living animal on the planet.
Several years ago, a group of rogue orcas near Spain and Portugal made international headlines after they repeatedly attacked sailboats and other human watercraft. Hundreds of attacks have since been reported and at least four boats were sunk.
Possible explanations for those attacks range from simple curiosity to acts of revenge, although no definitive answer has been found.
As Wednesday’s successful hunt showed, there is still much to learn about these majestic and mighty killers of the deep.
To see the video of Tuesday’s hunt, click here. Viewer discretion is advised.
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