![]() ![]() That attack involved some of the orcas repeatedly slamming into the blue whale and biting off chunks of its flesh, while others went for its head and still another took the liberty of going for the tongue ― a nutrient-dense organ that orcas apparently love. ![]() “When we arrived about 14 killer whales were attacking the blue in waters, with the female killer whales leading the attack,” Isabella Reeves, a PhD candidate at Australia’s Flinders University and one of the study’s authors, told New Atlas. But the third blue whale the orcas ate was a healthy adult between 60 and 70 feet long, more than twice the size of the largest orcas, which only get to be about 30 feet, according to National Geographic. In two of the three cases, the blue whales - which are the largest animals on Earth - weren’t fully grown: one was a young calf and one was a juvenile around a year old. ![]() The incidents all happened in Australia’s Bremer Bay, where female-led orca groups worked together to take down their large prey. In the past, there have been reports of orcas chasing blue whales, but this the first official scientific record of orcas successfully hunting, killing and eating them, according to The Guardian. This was a collaborative effort between scientists & tourism operators.The #Bremer #orca yet again teaching us something new! Link below /8Gn0It9RvK Happy to share our new publication reporting on the first records of #killerwhales predating on the largest animals on the planet- blue whales. ![]()
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