Rare Orca Attack
A pod of about 30 orcas attacked and "badly wounded" two adult gray whales off the coast of California, according to drone footage. The video shows a pod of orcas attacking two adult gray whales in California's Monterey Bay, in a rare case of predation. The attacked whales split up and eventually made it to safety in shallower waters after a 6-hour melee.
Orcas (Orcinus orca), also known as killer whales, are the only major predators(opens in new tab) of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus). But killer whales usually hunt calves rather than adults, opting to "take advantage" of calves that migrate up the coast with their mothers in the first year of their lives. And even going after a young whale is no easy feat as the pod must still contend with its protective mother.
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