"Many Photos" - Incredible pictures show blue whale being killed and eaten by killer whales

This is the incredible moment a pod of killer whales slaughtered and ate a blue whale off the coast of Australia.

Six orcas, notorious for preying on mammals including seals, dolphins and other whales, attacked and drowned the 60ft (18metre) beast 12 miles (20km) south of Western Australia.

Dramatic pictures showed blood and flesh gushing into the water as the orcas made their kill before 50 others joined to feast on the enormous carcass.   

The hunt: This is the incredible moment a pod of killer whales killed and ate a blue whale off the coast of Australia. Six orcas, notorious for preying on sea mammals including seals, dolphins and other whales, attacked and drowned the 60ft beast 12 miles south of Western Australia

Feast: Dramatic pictures showed blood and flesh gushing into the water as the orcas made their kill before 50 others joined to feast on the enormous carcass. Experts from the Cetacean Research Centre and Project Orca witnessed the incredible event at about 8.45am on March 21

Gruesome death: CETREC founder and orca researcher, John Totterdell, said: 'In the middle of an intense lightning storm with visibility less than 200m, the team, on route to their offshore study area, stumbled across this colossal event. The blue whale had already been wounded with bites and blood visible around the head area, though it actively fought on for about half an hour before succumbing to the onslaught.'

The carcass: Blue whales are world's biggest mammal. They can reach 100ft in length and weigh over 170 tonnes. Killer whales, aka orcas, are the ocean's apex predator and males can reach 26ft long and weigh around six tonnes. They are the biggest member of the dolphin family and have been recorded hunting large whales and even great white sharks

Experts from the Cetacean Research Centre and Project Orca witnessed the incredible event at about 8.45am on March 21.

CETREC founder and orca researcher, John Totterdell, said: 'In the middle of an intense lightning storm with visibility less than 200m, the team - on route to their offshore study area - stumbled across this colossal event.

'The blue whale had already been wounded with bites and blood visible around the head area, though it actively fought on for about half an hour before succumbing to the onslaught.

'It was then held under long enough to drown and bleed out.

'In awe, we then witnessed about 50 killer whales feed, sharing their prize for the next six hours.'

Blue whales are the world's biggest mammal and are endangered. They can reach 100ft (30 metres) in length and weigh over 170 tonnes.

Killer whales, aka orcas, are the ocean's apex predator and males can reach 26ft (eight metres) and weigh around six tonnes. 

They are the biggest member of the dolphin family and have been recorded hunting large whales and even great white sharks.

Whale expert Mr Totterdell said: 'Even with a sometimes playful nature, and a sophisticated family orientated social structure, killer whales are the ocean's top predator and so we bear witness to some intense and powerful encounters. Observations and accounts of killer whales preying on the calves of large whales and other smaller cetaceans have been on the increase'

A small number of at most six orcas were responsible for the actual killing though the whole group of approximately 50 orcas fed on the carcass for over six hours. Pictured: The Blue whale during the savage killing 

Mr Totterdell said: 'Even with a sometimes playful nature, and a sophisticated family orientated social structure, killer whales are the ocean's top predator and so we bear witness to some intense and powerful encounters.

'In recent years, observations and accounts of killer whales preying on the calves of large whales and other smaller cetaceans have been on the increase.

'Off WA, smaller whales have shown to be a regular annual prey source for the orca.

'Even though this is the first recorded attack of a large baleen whale in Australia, large whales including blues often face the risk being hunted by killer whales.

'A small number of at most six orcas were responsible for the actual killing - though the whole group of approximately 50 orcas fed on the carcass for over six hours.' 

What is the difference between blue whales and killer orcas?  

 Killer whale

 Killer whales, aka orcas, are the ocean's apex predator and males can reach 26ft (eight metres) long and weigh around six tonnes. 

They are the biggest member of the dolphin family and have been recorded hunting large whales and even great white sharks.

A cosmopolitan species, they can be found in each of the world's oceans in a variety of marine environments, from Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas, absent only from the Baltic and Black seas, and some areas of the Arctic Ocean.

Worldwide population estimates are uncertain, but recent consensus suggests a minimum of 50,000.  

 Blue whale

 Blue whales are world's biggest mammal. They can reach 100ft (30 metres) in length and weigh over 170 tonnes.

 Blue whales were abundant in nearly all the oceans on Earth until the beginning of the twentieth century. 

For over a century, they were hunted almost to extinction by whalers until protected by the international community in 1966. 

The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates that there are probably between 10,000 and 25,000 blue whales worldwide today.

Blue whales feed almost exclusively on krill, though they also take small numbers of copepods, or crustaceans.   

 

photo link
https://textbacklinkexchanges.com/incredible-pictures-show-blue-whale-being-killed-and-eaten-by-killer-whales/
News Photo Incredible pictures show blue whale being killed and eaten by killer whales
Advertising
You don’t have to pack away your dress just because you’re the wrong side of 20. These body-beautiful stars reveal their secrets to staying in shape and prove you can smoulder in a two-piece, whatever your age. Read on and be bikini inspired!

Kim says: “I am no super-thin Hollywood actress. I am built for men who like women to look like women.”
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/04/01/11835722-6884293-image-m-54_1554338867361.jpg