Even the largest animal ever is in danger from predators.
When it comes to the giants of the world's oceans, the blue whale stands out from the crowd. It can reach lengths nearing 100 feet and can weigh more than 180 tons. As far as science is concerned, it is the biggest animal to ever exist on planet Earth.
Despite that huge size, they only eat small ocean krill. One would think that being that large would mean that this whale has no fear of any of the ocean's other predators. Well, it turns out that is not the case.
Whale Watch Western Australia took a group of tourists out for a day of whale watching not knowing they were about to witness one of the most incredible hunts in nature. Multiple pods of orca whales, an estimated 75 individual or more orcas, teamed up to hunt and kill a giant blue whale. The amazing spectacle was caught on camera.
According to the Whale Watch Western Australia website, the day started off normally before they noticed there were more orcas in the area than normal. The killer whales were all apparently called to action by a female matriarch of one of the pods. We never knew different families of orcas could organize together like this.
"It was difficult to observe, the hunts on such large individuals will never end quickly as they are simply too powerful and determined to give up without a fight," the site reads.
The Whale Watch website reports it took an excruciating three hours for the orcas to finally finish off the giant blue whale before they could begin their feast. The noise from the hunt also drew in pilot whales and hundreds of birds looking for scraps. After the whales are done, it seems likely sharks would be the next to take advantage of whatever was left.
Watching a big animal slowly die like this may seem cruel, but this is simply how nature operates. This is survival of the fittest in action.
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels.
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