Tactics help killer whales hunt the largest fish on the planet

Whale sharks up to 18 meters long specialize in feeding in the Gulf of California and there is oral evidence that they are hunted and killed by killer whales. Researchers collect direct evidence of killer whale attacks on whale sharks. They photographed and recorded killer whales hunting whale sharks and used the data to evaluate their hunting tactics in new research forthcoming in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, Independent reported on November 26.

The latest study analyzed photos and videos from four predation events that took place over the six years until 2024 in the southern Gulf of California. In these cases, killer whales appear to exhibit cooperative tactics of hunting and killing whale sharks. Attacks typically involve killer whales targeting the whale shark’s pelvic region, focusing on their attachment lobes and pelvic fins. The whale shark is temporarily paralyzed and flips onto its back, allowing the killer whale to reach the fat-rich liver.

Killer whales target the lower abdomen most likely because it is the least protected part of the whale shark with low amounts of muscle and cartilage. But there is no photographic evidence of killer whales eating whale shark livers. The team suspects that killer whales in the Gulf of California have developed special skills to hunt whale sharks and that this knowledge may be spreading throughout the population.

The photo shows an adult male killer whale that Mexican researchers nicknamed “Moctezuma” participating in three of four hunting events. The female killer whales in the fourth event had previously appeared with Moctezuma. The discovery reveals the intelligence of the ocean’s top predator.

Previously, researchers recorded killer whales eating dolphins for the first time off the coast of Chile. A few months earlier, they also described the case of a lone killer whale hunting and eating great white sharks off the coast of South Africa.