Watch killer whales chow down on a shark
A pod of orcas gets their shark snack on in a fascinating video captured by a drone flying over the water.
On Tuesday, California photographer Slater Moore got on board the Sea Wolf II, a boat run by tour operator Monterey Bay Whale Watch, and headed out to look for whales. What he captured with his drone-mounted camera would fit right into an episode of "Planet Earth II."
Not only did he witness a pod of 25 offshore orcas, he also caught them nibbling on a shark like it was an oversized fish stick.
The footage starts off looking like a water ballet. There's a pretty piano music soundtrack and the orcas ripple through their swimming moves. The video then takes a nature-is-metal turn to the wild side as the killer whales start munching on a shark.
The unlucky predator-turned-prey is believed to be a sevengill shark, which can top 7 feet (2 meters) in length.
Monterey Bay Whale Watch notes that this sort of food-sharing behavior is rarely caught on film. The adult whales may have been teaching their calves how to hunt, which lends the shark-eating event a bit of quality family-time flair.
According to the Orca Network, an organization dedicated to raising awareness of whales in the Pacific Northwest, offshore killer whales are known to enjoy shark-sushi meals. Moore was understandably excited about his experience, writing, "So lucky to get to see this!!!"
