Mother killer whale knocks dolphin into the air

During a 30-minute hunt to teach her calf how to hunt, the mother killer whale repeatedly threw the dolphin out of the water.

Wildlife filmmaker Domenic Biagini captured the rare scene during a whale watching trip off the coast of San Diego, California, USA, NBC News reported on December 22. In the video, the killer whale teaches its calf to hunt by headbutting the dolphin, sending the dolphin flying into the air several times.

"The pod of killer whales had the dolphin, but they let it go after it was subdued and no longer agile. They brought the baby killer whale over so it could try to catch the dolphin itself," Biagini explained. He said the hunt lasted about 30 minutes, much longer than a typical killer whale hunt because this time the whales were teaching the calf.

As one of the ocean's top predators, killer whales combine their large size and fast speed into their hunting strategies, according to marine biologist Alisa Schulman-Janiger, co-founder of the California Killer Whale Project. They often slow down their prey to demonstrate how to hunt for their calves.

“Killer whales can easily travel at 25 mph and hit dolphins so hard that they are thrown out of the water,” Schulman-Janiger said. She added that the baby killer whale in the video is so young that the small patch of skin around its eyes is still yellow instead of white. The color will fade as it matures.

The animals featured in Biagini’s footage are eastern tropical Pacific killer whales, which typically live in the waters of Mexico and Central America, according to Schulman-Janiger. They are rarely seen in the relatively calm, warm waters of Southern California. Schulman-Janiger suggests that the large population of dolphins in the area may be less accustomed to being hunted by killer whales.

"We try to explain to passengers that what whales do to dolphins can sometimes be quite scary, but it's normal and healthy. It means our ecosystem is still functioning the way it naturally should," Biagini said.

Thu Thao (According to NBC News )

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