While hunting, an orca (identified as pod matriarch Dakota) propels a dusky dolphin (left) into the air.  Credit: Maikol Barrera

In coastal waters near Chile in 2023, a massive female killer whale walloped the much smaller dolphin, sending it flying out of the water. Within minutes, the unequal battle was over and the orca began to feed. But she didn’t dine alone. As she gripped the dolphin’s body, other orcas swam up to share bites of the meal.

Orcas are found worldwide, and while there is just one species there are multiple ecotypes, or groups that share similarities in their appearance and behaviors, including hunting strategies and prey preference. There are five ecotypes in the Northern Hemisphere and five in the Southern Hemisphere. The Humboldt Current’s orcas have yet to be assigned to an ecotype, and documenting their dolphin-hunting provides clues about where this population might belong, researchers reported Thursday in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1450624/full