Orcas filmed smashing giant sunfish into thousands of pieces
Researchers say the behavior may help juveniles feed and learn hunting skills, and they documented it twice in 2024 and 2025.
- On Thursday, July 23, 2026, researchers published findings in Frontiers in Ethology documenting orcas in Mexico's Gulf of California ramming dead sunfish in a newly identified behavior termed 'ram-to-fragment.'
- Sharptail sunfish possess a dense, collagen-rich capsule difficult to tear, prompting orcas to employ a 'hold-to-ram' technique where one whale stabilizes prey while another accelerates to shatter the tough outer layer.
- Marine biologist Erick Higuera Rivas first witnessed the behavior in December 2021, with divers documenting collaborative incidents in 2024 and 2025 that turned carcasses into 'thousands of pieces' for easier ingestion.
- Younger orcas benefit from fragmentation, consuming nutrient-rich remains when they lack adult jaw leverage, while experts suggest the practice reinforces social bonds and provides subadults opportunity to practice strike precision.
- Future research aims to determine if this behavior is culturally learned or specific to this population, as Higuera notes that maintaining respectful distance is vital for safely documenting such hidden marine mysteries.
196 Articles
196 Articles
Orcas burst moonfish: In the Gulf of California, researchers have observed a rare phenomenon in Orcas.
Sword whales are notorious in Europe for their dubious – and often destructive – interest in sailing yachts. Now a video shows that they can also be quite different.
Scientists Are Trying to Figure Out Why Orcas Are Punching Giant Sunfish So Hard They Explode
Orcas have been terrorizing great white sharks, capsizing boats off the Iberian Peninsula, and generally establishing themselves as the ocean’s most charismatic chaos agents. Now, in the Gulf of California, they’ve added something new to the repertoire: punching giant sunfish so hard they explode. A new paper published in Frontiers in Ethology documents three separate […] The post Scientists Are Trying to Figure Out Why Orcas Are Punching Giant …
Two killer whales have been caught on film as one holds on to a dead fish – while the other rams into the prey at such high speed that it explodes.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 52% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
