Exotic orcas ambush dolphins off San Diego in striking new footage

The owner of a San Diego whale-watching company this week shared extraordinary footage showing Eastern Tropical Pacific killer whales preying on dolphins during recent visits from Mexico.

The footage posted below, narrated by Domenic Biagini of Gone Whale Watching San Diego, reveals the graphic manner by which the orcas single out dolphins to kill and share with one another “just as we would at a family dinner.” (Viewer discretion is advised.)

The ETP orcas are more commonly encountered in the Sea of Cortez and elsewhere off Mexico. Their seasonal dolphin-hunting forays into Southern California, however, are becoming legendary.

The footage, captured over the past three weeks, opens with a humpback whale and massive fin whale lunge-feeding on anchovies, alongside hundreds of dolphins.

Then come the orcas in a segment that shows one orca blasting a dolphin airborne as the orca also soars perhaps 20 feet high. (Click here if video player does not appear below.)

More complex hunting behavior is revealed via drone footage as Biagini explains: “To overcome the dolphin’s superior speed and agility, the orcas work together as a coordinated unit.”

There’s a kill and a shared meal before a segment that shows a massive dolphin stampede preceding another successful hunt.

“The orcas know that they can’t rely on speed alone to catch the dolphins,” Biagini explains. “But they can use the panic to their advantage, and in the chaos it’s unclear if [the dolphins] even realize what direction is safety and what direction is danger.”

Biagini describes the stampede-and-chase phenomenon as “one of the greatest natural spectacles on earth,” and those who view his footage might be inclined to agree.