‘Like someone whacking a piñata’: orcas explode sunfish by ramming them at high speed

By Vanessa Pirotta, Whale Scientist and Lecturer, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University

An adult orca cruises near the surface of the clear, blue water, holding a large sunfish carcass in its mouth.

Seconds later, it releases its prey, right in the path of another adult orca that’s torpedoing up from the depths. The sunfish explodes into thousands of pieces on impact. A younger member of the pod that’s watching on then moves in to feed.

Tourists in the Gulf of California captured this event on camera in July 2024. They captured a similar event…

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