Drone Footage Reveals 30 Orcas Leaving Two Gray Whales Badly Wounded in Rare Attack

Rare drone footage was able to capture an orca pod, comprising roughly 30 members, attacking two gray whales and leaving them badly injured. This took place along Monterey Bay.

30 Orcas Attack Two Gray Whales

Live Science notes that the drone footage was snapped by Evan Brodsky, a Monterey Bay Whale Watch videographer, using a drone. The predated gray whales reportedly split up and eventually reached shallower areas after the six-hour attack.

The footage reveals huddled gray whales as the killer whales attack them from the sides. These gray whales were reportedly left badly wounded after such a rough encounter with the orcas.

In the footage, the orcas can be observed to take turns as they attacked the gray whales and bit their pectoral fins. Frank adds that one of these whales was "Louise," who is a notorious whale hunter that is well-documented.

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Rare Attack on Adult Gray Whales

Danny Frank, a Discovery Whale Watch operator, explains how rare the incident is since in most cases, orcas predate gray whale calves that a single mother protects. In such cases, the mother would try to "hoist the calf up on her belly" and out of the water in order to maintain a distance, as reported by Global News.

Ari Friedlaender, a marine mammal ecologist from the University of California, Santa Cruz, explains that the single event does not equate to a pressing concern.

Nevertheless, if orcas keep on predating on older gray whales, there could be an underlying problem behind the behavior, Friedlaender notes. Live Science notes that one possible reason why orcas prey on adults is because of the small population of gray whale calves. In such a case, these incidents could indicate an underlying concern about the population of gray whales.

Hunger could also be a strong motivator from a risk-reward perspective. This means that there may have been a higher reward for feasting on whale meat compared to getting injured.

However, there is not sufficient data to conclude if the population of orcas are dealing with food supply issues.

Killer Whale 'Orcas'

According to Business Insider, orcas or killer whales are remarkably smaller compared to gray whales. A typical gray whale has a length of 48 feet and a weight of around 78,000 pounds. Orcas, on the other hand, tend to be smaller as they can grow up to 32 feet in length. They also weigh roughly 11,000 pounds, which is remarkably lighter compared to gray whales.

Live Science adds that these orcas are gray whales' only major predators. However, they typically hunt calves and not adult whales.

Orcas are also known to predate on adult humpback, blue, and fin whales.

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