Last Saturday, we posted about orcas from Mexico killing a large fin whale off San Diego and one orca passing beneath a boat holding whale flesh in its jaws.
On Friday, orcas were back off San Diego attacking a smaller fin whale, and the accompanying footage shows several orcas passing alongside a 139-foot sailing yacht with the entire whale.
Orcas present fin whale to astonished sailors.
At one point, the whale’s head breaks the surface and it’s as if the orcas are showing off their prize.
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Next Level Sailing described: “At 12:52, crew member Adelaide Hall captured this unbelievable moment. The ETP Orcas took the fin whale up to the Yacht America and then over to the port side of the vessel.”
It was not clear whether the whale was alive at the time, but the accompanying screen shot reveals bite marks on the whale’s head and mouth. (The whale was killed at some point during a hunt that involved more than a dozen orcas.)
Both predation events involved Eastern Tropical Pacific orcas, or killer whales.
ETPs are more commonly encountered off southern Baja California, including inside the Sea of Cortez. They prey largely on marine mammals, and notably dolphins during their sporadic forays into Southern California waters.
But large cetaceans are presently on the menu, which speaks volumes about the ETP killer whales’ hunting prowess.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Orcas attack fin whale alongside historic San Diego sailing yacht