Tourists and researchers on a whale-watching boat off the coast of Western Australia got a little more action than they bargained for when they witnessed a pygmy blue whale being hunted and eventually predated upon by a huge pod of orcas.
Pygmy blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) are a subspecies of the largest creature ever to live and despite their name, are still huge, growing to 24 meters (78 feet) and weighing 90 tons (90,000 kilograms or 180,000 pounds). The pygmy blue whale is listed as Endangered under the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act and sightings of these creatures are not that common.
The pygmy whale in question was thought to be around 18 meters long (59 feet) and was hunted and killed by a pod of more than 60 orcas including juveniles (you can even spot the very young which have a peachy color).
“We witnessed an incredible and rare event yesterday as multiple pods of orcas successfully hunted a blue whale in Bremer Canyon. The intense ordeal lasted less than 40 minutes from when we first saw the blue at the surface to when the battle was over,” said Naturaliste Charters Whale Watching in a social media post.
The 60-strong orca pod was made up of adults and juveniles.
Image courtesy of Naturaliste Charters, photographer Machi Yoshida
After the blue whale was killed and consumed the orcas seemed to celebrate by breaching out of the water and with tail slaps wrote the team.
Orcas have a varied diet and have been known to kill great white sharks to get to their livers, as well as the largest fish in the ocean, the whale shark. Certain groups have even been known to learn how to target specific species such as bull sharks. Naturaliste Charters suggests this is only the fourth documented case of orcas predating on a pygmy blue whale.
Young orcas have a peachy tint to their skin due to having thinner layers of blubber compared to adults, allowing blood vessels to be more visible.
Image courtesy of Naturaliste Charters, photographer Machi Yoshida
“We estimated about 60 orcas involved, likely more than that,” marine biologist Jennah Tucker, who works on the Naturaliste Charters, told ABC. “We’ve confirmed five different family groups were involved. “Quite often, many will move in once it’s over. But in this case, we saw 20 to 30 animals at a time crowding around the whale to take it down.”
Bremer Canyon is becoming a well-known marine hotspot with tourists traveling specifically to the area in the hopes of seeing orcas, whales, and squids. You never know when you’re going to get a rare sighting like this though.
