The blow shatters the fish into pieces
The video shows one orca holding a sunfish near the water surface, while another approaches it from below at high speed.
The blow shatters the fish into many small pieces, which the orcas later feed on.
Scientists believe that this behavior may be a new way of feeding or a form of communication among members of the orca family.
Orcas attacked the sharp-tongued sunfish
There are five known species of sunfish worldwide, but in both this and another video, the orcas attacked only one of them – the sharp-tongued sunfish.
This oval-shaped sunfish is one of the largest bony fish in the world – it can reach up to 3.5 m in length.
This is not the first recording made in the San Francisco Bay: the first was filmed in July 2024.
Scientists who analyzed the 2024 incident wrote in the journal Frontiers in Ethology that the loud impact sound when hitting the fish at high speed shattered its tissues, and the pieces scattered in the water.
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During the impact, the orca can reach speeds of up to 54 km/h.
Soon the video shows a young orca feeding on small floating pieces of fish in the water. Adult orcas do not feed on them.
It is still unclear whether the same group of orcas is seen in the 2025 footage.
Scientists consider several reasons for this behavior. Breaking the fish into pieces may help prepare it for food, encourage social behavior or play, and also allow sharing food with other group members.
However, such an action requires very precise and coordinated cooperation among the orcas.
Orcas are generally known for their ability to hunt precisely and in coordination. In the same San Francisco Bay, they have been observed flipping great white sharks onto their backs, paralyzing them, and later feeding together on their nutritious livers.
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