Horrifying moment when two gray whales are forced to fend off the ferocious onslaught of THIRTY killer whales in a five-hour battle off the coast of California
- Monterey Bay Whale Watch captured rare footage of killer whales using a drone to attack two adult gray whales in Monterey Bay
- Video shows more than 30 killer whales attacking the adult gray whales and attempting to eat them alive in an attack that lasted five hours before the group split
- While killer whales have been known to attack gray whales, they usually go after the more vulnerable calves, making this attack on adult whales highly unusual
A compelling video has been released of a pod of killer whales attacking two adult gray whales off the coast of California.
The footage was captured using an overhead drone piloted by Evan Brodsky, who was out at sea Whale watching in Monterey Bay.
The rare footage shows a pod of more than 30 killer whales attempting to devour the gray killer whales alive, over a five-hour period.
The pod appears to circle the stranded gray whales before attempting a kill.
While it’s not uncommon for killer whales to attack gray whales, they normally target calves which are much more vulnerable than adults, as seen here.
Two adult gray whales were seen swimming in Monterey Bay
Suddenly, the pair was attacked by a pod of at least 30 orca killer whales
In this case, it is very early in the season that the killer whales attack the calves that have not yet arrived in the region, making the attack highly unusual.
Brodsky managed to observe the attack until the gray whales finally split from the group and managed to swim to shallower waters.
“Five-hour attack by more than two dozen Bigg’s killer whales on two adult gray whales, and an attempted predation—which was unsuccessful!” Brodsky wrote excitedly on Facebook.
“Usually orcas hunt gray whale calves when they go to their northern feeding grounds with their mothers. But these weren’t calves: they were huge adult gray whales! The battered gray whales eventually reached shallow water and the killer whales broke off.
Orcas could be seen biting the gray whales in the Pacific Ocean
Monterey Bay Whale Watch captured rare footage of the killer whales attacking two adult gray whales
Video shows more than 30 killer whales attacking the adult gray whales and trying to eat them alive
The gruesome attack lasted for five hours before the group split
“In over 30 years of documenting orca encounters, this is the FIRST time such an attack has been documented on adult gray whales in Monterey Bay!!!” He wrote.
Bigg’s killer whales, also known as transient killer whales, roam the Pacific Northwest and feed mostly on other marine mammals rather than other whales, which mainly eat fish.
The video of the attack provides a rare glimpse into orca behavior and their hunting patterns.
“Transient killer whales, the type we typically see here in Monterey, have a diet of other mammals, making Monterey Bay spring a haven for these tactically sound hunters,” explains Monterey Bay Whale Watch.
During the attack, gray whales were seen with visible wounds on the side of their skin
While killer whales have been known to attack gray whales, they usually go after the more vulnerable calves, making this attack on adult whales highly unusual
Members of the killer whale group appeared to take turns attacking and biting the gray whales
Usually the mothers and their calves stay fairly close to shore during their migration along the California coast because it is safer and there is more food.
However, when they encounter Monterey Bay, the geography makes it more difficult for them to stay close to shore.
Orcas hang around the bay waiting to take advantage of the young calves’ vulnerability in deep, open water.
Gray whales can grow up to 15 feet long and weigh up to 90,000 pounds, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.