Marine biologists have documented a remarkable hunting strategy employed by killer whales in the southern Gulf of California, in which they harvest whale sharks’ organs.
Researchers in Mexico have reported four separate events between 2018 and 2024 where orcas demonstrated a collaborative approach to targeting whale sharks—the world’s largest fish, which can grow up to around 60 feet long.
The study, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, described a highly coordinated hunting method where pod members work together to immobilize their massive prey.
“When hunting, all pod members work together, hitting the whale shark to turn it upside down,” said Jesús Erick Higuera-Rivas, the senior author of the study.
This technique induces a state of “tonic immobility” in the whale sharks, rendering them unable to move or escape, he said.
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