Killer Whales Hunting

As a young killer whale grows older, the killer whale calf relies on its mother's milk less and less. Gradually, the young killer whale starts eating solid food and begins to find with its mother and other killer whales members of the pod.

What do killer whales eat?

Killer whales eat a wide variety of ocean life, including squid, octopus, fish, sea turtles, otters, penguins, seals and sea lions, manatees, dolphins, and whales. Some killer whales even eat blue whales.

Killer whales have also been known to feed on land animals such as moose and caribou, which are caught while trying to swim across the rivers. The killer whale is at the top of the food chain.

Each killer whale pod tends to have its own favorite food. Fish is the most popular, but some killer whale pods eat mainly seals, dolphins, and other much larger animals.

Killer whales hunting in pods

The killer whales members family of a pod usually hunt together. They work as a team to catch their food, like wolves hunting in pack. In the Antarctic, they work together by tipping sleeping seals and penguins from ice floes into the waiting mouths of other members of the pod. In other parts of the world, they work in shifts to catch seals that hide in the ocean caves. The killer whales take turns rising to the surface to breathe so that they are always some whales waiting when the seals finally have to leave their hiding places to go up for air.

It takes many years for a killer whale calf to learn how to hunt. Its family pod will u se different hinting methods for different kinds of pray and there is much to learn. The killer whale calves learn by watching its older relatives hunt and then trying to copy their hunting techniques. Sometimes, adult killer whales will even give the younger killer whales actual hunting lessons.