Watch a Pod of Orca Whales Hunt Salmon Directly in Front of a Small Boat

The killer whale’s ability to successfully hunt depends on teamwork. They are highly clever creatures that use the assistance of every animal in their pod to complete their kills. When orca whales hunt, the catch is split among the members of the pod.

Click to Watch Orca Whales Hunt Salmon Boatside!

To locate food, orcas use echolocation. They call out repeatedly into the ocean. The whales are able to recognize these ‘echoes’ and utilize them to locate their prey because these will reverberate off everything in their way, including a school of fish or a seal. 

The whale speeds up its clicking till it resembles somewhat of a buzz as it approaches its intended victim. Despite the salmon’s quick movements, this enables them to hear their victim in front of them continuously and in real time. 

Once the prey has been identified, orcas push their location in deep water to the coast since it is harder to get away in shallow water. A couple of lucky individuals were able to watch these massive creatures hunt right in front of them. 

What Do Orca Whales Eat?

Orcas, also known as killer whales, can live for up to 90 years! They have to consume a lot of food to stay active and healthy. Apex predators, or those at the peak of the food chain. Killer whales fall into this category. 

Like other toothed-whales, they eat fish and squid, but they are also capable of tracking down seals, sea birds, as well as whale species that are much larger than themselves. There is an abundance of killer whales in the Pacific Northwest who have a specific preference for salmon, albeit not merely any salmon will suffice. 

The biggest salmon on the entire planet, chinook salmon is regarded as the king of salmon. Whales like the ones in this video prefer to eat chinook salmon. According to scientists, whales can identify Chinook fish only by their sound.

A Preference For Salmon

It would be reasonable to think that the Chinook are simple to identify by their size since they are the greatest of the salmon species. However, Southern Resident whales can distinguish the Chinook even when there are other fish of similar size around. 

Their hunting territory includes five additional varieties of salmon in addition to dozens of different aquatic species. Despite being generally smaller, pink, coho, and sockeye salmon frequently share the same size range as Chinook. 

Underwater, a whale’s vision is impaired, particularly at the depths where light must diffuse. Whales may be able to recognize things up to 500 feet away because of echolocation. They actually inhabit a totally different world, one where sound rules, than we do. 

Don’t forget to scroll down to see just how skilled these gigantic creatures are when it comes to hunting salmon!