Nature can be brutal. Shane Wiese is a diver and photographer previously based out of southern California. On one journey off the coast of San Clemente, Wiese came across an amazing scene– whale hunting smaller sized dolphins. Honestly, it seems like these orcas are playing with their food.
In the video, you see a whale repeatedly leaping out of the water, either throwing a smaller dolphin up out of the water with it or ramming into the little dolphin as it attempts to get away. While it might be the same orca jumping numerous times, Wiese presumes that there were a number of orcas in the water around him. Orcas are social animals that live in pods and coordinate their searching efforts as a group, so it’s most likely there are multiple whales ganging up on this smaller dolphin.
“It was an amazing experience to witness Orcas hunting dolphins,” Wiese composed in his caption. “I have actually never seen anything like it before in my life!”
In truth, whales are dolphins (the biggest members of the dolphin household), so this is a case of big dolphins vs. little dolphins. Orcas are top predators in the ocean, and they generally hunt marine mammals like seals and sea lions. However, these opportunists might likewise hunt other dolphins, whales, and even sharks.
View orcas head-butting/hunting a smaller dolphin here:
We can’t fault predators for being predators, however oof, this is brutal.
Nature can be ruthless, especially predator-prey interactions. See orcas hunt smaller sized dolphins by head-butting them mid-air here.