Orcas have to be some of the most magnificent sea creatures in the world.
Also known as the killer whale, these toothed whales are recognized by their black bodies and white underbellies, as well as patches near each eye.
Orcas can be found in every different ocean around the world, and depending on where they live, their diets and ways of communicating can vary hugely.
As you can imagine, these sea mammals are pretty large.
Female orcas grow to around 5-7 metres, while males can grow up to 8 metres in size! Orcas aren’t just huge in length- they’re also incredibly heavy!
An adult female orca weighs around 1,400 – 2,700 kg, while an adult male weighs over double, at 3,600 – 5,400 kg.
Orcas aren’t massively picky eaters, and will consume anything from fish, to seals, sea lions, dolphins, squids and even sharks!
If you’ve never witnessed an orca hunting before, then prepare to be impressed. Orcas are incredibly intelligent hunters, and can often be seen working together to capture their prey.
They do so by herding fish before stunning them with tail strikes, or creating waves that can knock prey off the ice and into the water.
A hunting orca can also leap impressively high in the air– a sight which must be incredible to see in person.
For boaters in the Sea of Cortez, this incredible sight was about to present itself to them, after they ended up in exactly the right place at the right time.
Cabo Pulmo Divers’ Miguel Cuevas was taking some customers out to sea when he spotted the hunting orca. Miguel couldn’t believe what he was seeing and pulled out his phone to capture the incredible sight on camera.
Miguel posted his video onto Instagram, and it now has over 148,000 views.
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The short clip begins right before the orca reaches the surface. The whale has clearly already been sighted, as a number of boats drift in the area, keenly waiting to see what happens next.
You can see ripples in the water as if something is about to break through. There’s a moment of anticipation as everybody waits to see what the orca’s next move will be.
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Then suddenly, the moment everyone has been waiting for.
Out from the water leaps an orca, closely followed by a dolphin. It’s clear that this killer whale is in the middle of hunting his prey– but the dolphin seems determined to escape.
Miguel estimated that the whale had leapt between 4 and 5 metres into the air. Impressive!
The pair are only in the air for a second, before they hit the water and the action continues out of sight. We don’t know how things ended, but something tells us that the poor dolphin probably didn’t manage to get away!
The incredible sight left the spectators on the boats shouting and clapping in amazement. It must have been an amazing thing to witness right in front of their very eyes.
We wish we could have been there!
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