Dylan Bettencourt
A pod of orcas and two humpback whales were involved in a rare brawl in the Pacific Ocean in front of a crowd of whale watchers.
The whale watching group saw the two different breeds of whales fight for around three hours on Thursday in the Salish Sea off the coast of Washington in America.
Video footage captured by the Pacific Whale Watching Association (PWWA) showed the sea animals leaping in and out of the water during the brawl.
“It was absolutely unbelievable. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it,” Mollie Naccarato, captain for Sooke Coastal Explorations, said in a press release.
“At first the orcas seemed to be chasing the humpbacks, but then when it seemed there was space between them, the humpbacks would go back toward the orcas.”
Orcas are known to feed on marine animals such as seals, sea lions and porpoises, but there has never been a reported death in a fight between orcas and humpback whales in the Salish Sea, Business Insider reported.
Protection protocols were put in place in an effort to prevent humpback whales from being endangered as well as a record number of orcas in the Salish Sea, confrontations between the two breeds could increase in the future.
One of the humpback whales named Hydra was again spotted on Sunday but with very little damage from the brawl a few days earlier.
“Today one of our PWWA captains, Joe Zelwietro of Eagle Wing Tours, spotted Hydra on their tour. He said she looked no worse for wear,” Erin Gless, Executive Director of PWWA said.
“It’s a huge relief for me as she’s one of my favourite humpback whales!”
Image source: @SmithsonianInstitution
