Killer whales live up to their name when they’re hunting dolphins. Photo: Mike Sack//YouTube//Screenshot
If you are a human (which you most likely are), you don’t have to worry about getting attacked by a killer whale. If you are a dolphin, however, you do. Recently, a pod of dolphins in Monterey Bay found that out first-hand.
These things can be tough to watch, but it helps, I think, if you remember that this is how nature is supposed to work. Nature is cruel sometimes. It’s the only way the balance can be kept, but because the majority of us get our meat in a package from a store and have no real connection to the animal we’re eating, it can be easy to forget that we are indeed chowing down on a cow that was living and breathing.
I grew up on Vancouver Island, where seeing orcas is fairly common if you spend any time on or in the water. Despite the fact that I’ve seen killer whales countless times, I’m still awestruck every time I’m lucky enough to spot one. There’s a reason why whale watching companies exist, and it’s because I’m not the only one who feels that way. One whale watching group in Monterey Bay got the show of a lifetime on the morning of July 19: killer whales chasing a pod of dolphins, launching themselves and the dolphins into the air.
“Most whale watchers that come out on a regular basis come 15 to 20 times a year to witness that one event,” Captain Joey Stagnaro told reporters. “So that’s the big thing.”
The crew aboard Sanctuary Cruises was just as thrilled as the whale watchers, even though they’ve likely seen orcas a million times before.
Stagnaro spotted the orcas first, and realized they were closing in fast on a large group of dolphins. He called for the owner, Mike Sack, to come and watch the spectacle that he suspected was about to unfold.
“I immediately called the owner of the boat,” he said. “I said, ‘get out here. This is unreal. Unreal.’ And, he did. And, we got a lot of happy tourists here in the Monterey Bay.”
Sack, who is not only the boat’s owner but a naturalist as well, has likely seen this kind of thing before as well. Still, he was in awe of what he was watching.
“By far one of the top moments,” he told reporters. “I mean, I’ve been out here doing the whale watching for, you know, 18 or so years and yeah, it was right up there.”
Orcas are incredible hunters. They have a range of different techniques that often require team work. They’ll beach seals, create waves to knock prey off ice floes, and work together to herd fish and marine mammals like dolphins and even other whales. They’re powerful enough to literally cause their prey to explode sometimes, too.
“They’re reaching a top speed of around 30 miles an hour,” Chase Dekker, head biologist for Sanctuary Cruises, explained to WSVN, “coming up from underneath and then trying to ram the dolphin as hard as they can to weaken it before the rest of the pod works to take it down.”
