Nature & Environment
Watch: Amazing Footage Of Dolphins Fleeing Orca Attack
Sam D
First Posted: Apr 21, 2016 05:51 AM EDT
A whale watcher from California has recorded a spectacular footage of a school of dolphins escaping an ambush by killer whales in the Pacific Ocean's Monterey Bay area. Michael Sack, co-owner of Sanctuary Cruises, made the video after witnessing an almost unprecedented increase of daily sightings of killer whales in April.
According to the information on his YouTube channel, Sack feels that he was in the right place at the right time which allowed him to witness the striking scene where eight to 10 orcas were chasing a huge pod of dolphins. Killer whales usually target gray whale mother and calf pairs.
"They're right under here waiting to ambush these common dolphins coming our way. So in a second you're going to see all of these common dolphins take off like you've never seen before," Michael Sack said in the video. "Look at them all! They're running right now. This is a pretty epic encounter I just had".
The ambush episode also saw one dolphin being killed by an orca which resulted in a "stampede". According to Sack, it was a rare opportunity to record the thrilling encounter between dolphins and orcas. A report suggests that occurrences like this are not uncommon; however, it is not every day that one is ready with a camera waiting for something like this to happen, which makes the footage more special.
Orcas belong to the order Cetacea; however these toothed giants are actually the largest oceanic dolphins in the world. There are three different types of orcas found in the Californian waters; however the killer whales that are seen in the video are known as transients that specialize in preying on other marine animals. It is not quite clear why so many of these orcas converged in the bay this season. According to a report on KSBW, local naturalists are speculating that it could be something to do with the El Niño that led to significant differences in the water temperatures and the numbers of small schooling fish.
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First Posted: Apr 21, 2016 05:51 AM EDT
A whale watcher from California has recorded a spectacular footage of a school of dolphins escaping an ambush by killer whales in the Pacific Ocean's Monterey Bay area. Michael Sack, co-owner of Sanctuary Cruises, made the video after witnessing an almost unprecedented increase of daily sightings of killer whales in April.
According to the information on his YouTube channel, Sack feels that he was in the right place at the right time which allowed him to witness the striking scene where eight to 10 orcas were chasing a huge pod of dolphins. Killer whales usually target gray whale mother and calf pairs.
"They're right under here waiting to ambush these common dolphins coming our way. So in a second you're going to see all of these common dolphins take off like you've never seen before," Michael Sack said in the video. "Look at them all! They're running right now. This is a pretty epic encounter I just had".
The ambush episode also saw one dolphin being killed by an orca which resulted in a "stampede". According to Sack, it was a rare opportunity to record the thrilling encounter between dolphins and orcas. A report suggests that occurrences like this are not uncommon; however, it is not every day that one is ready with a camera waiting for something like this to happen, which makes the footage more special.
Orcas belong to the order Cetacea; however these toothed giants are actually the largest oceanic dolphins in the world. There are three different types of orcas found in the Californian waters; however the killer whales that are seen in the video are known as transients that specialize in preying on other marine animals. It is not quite clear why so many of these orcas converged in the bay this season. According to a report on KSBW, local naturalists are speculating that it could be something to do with the El Niño that led to significant differences in the water temperatures and the numbers of small schooling fish.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone