Orca news, features and articles
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Brutal footage shows orca mom and son team up to drown another pod's calf
By Hannah Osborne published
First of its kind footage captures the moment an orca mom and her son drown a calf in an extremely rare case of infanticide.
Dying orca's final moments after 'desperate' effort to stay afloat captured in 1st of its kind footage
By Sascha Pare published
An orca's final moments may have been captured on film for the first time, after repeated attempts by two young orcas to keep the old, dying male at the surface so he could breathe.
Orcas sink another boat in Europe after a nearly hour-long attack
By Harry Baker published
For the fourth time in two years, a group of unusually brazen orcas in southwestern Europe have sunk a sailing boat after relentlessly attacking it for almost an hour on Halloween.
11 ways orcas show their terrifying intelligence
By Patrick Pester published
Orcas have their own dialect, greeting ceremonies and even wore salmon as hats in a weird fad during the 1980s.
Orcas are learning terrifying new behaviors. Are they getting smarter?
By Sascha Pare published
From sinking boats and feasting on shark livers to dining on whale tongue and tossing porpoises around for fun, orcas are displaying some fascinating — and sometimes terrifying — behaviors.
Orcas that hunted alongside humans might be extinct
By Patrick Pester published
Researchers used DNA analysis and traditional knowledge to learn about an orca named Old Tom and his family's remarkable relationship with humans.
Orcas are harassing and playing with baby porpoises in deadly game that has lasted 60 years
By Sascha Pare published
Scientists may have finally figured out why a population of orcas in the Salish Sea have been tossing porpoises around and taking them into their mouths without eating them.
Scientists investigate mysterious case of orca that swallowed 7 sea otters whole
By Elise Poore published
The female orca was found far from her normal hunting ground with six whole sea otters in its stomach and one lodged between its oral cavity and the esophagus.
Opportunistic orcas have developed a new feeding behavior that appears to be killing them
By Sascha Pare published
More orcas have died entangled in fishing gear in Alaska this year than in previous years, which may be linked to a "new behavior" where they feed in front of ascending fishing nets.
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