Killer whales have been filmed ramming large fish so hard they exploded – before gorging on the remains.
The footage shows one orca holding a sunfish just under the surface of the sea, before a larger orca swims at speed from below. The impact smashes the sunfish’s body into tiny fragments, which the orcas then feed on.
Researchers say the behaviour may be a new way for the animals to feed – or could be a new way for orca families to interact.
There are five species of sunfish, but both this video – captured in the Gulf of California in July 2024 – and another taken in September 2025 show the orcas attacking only one: the sharp-tail sunfish. This oval-shaped sunfish is one of the largest bony fish in the sea and can grow up to 3.5m (11.5ft) in length.
Both videos show one orca gripping onto the fish’s clavus – a fin-like rudder that protrudes upwards – to stabilise it. The clavus is more pronounced on this type of sunfish, leading scientists to speculate that this is one of the reasons this species was selected over others.
When the orca slams into the fish, it can be travelling at speeds of up to 54km/h (33mph).
In their report on the 2024 incident, published in the journal Frontiers in Ethology, researchers said: “The high-velocity ‘ramming’ produced a loud audible sound and caused fragmentation of the sunfish tissue, which dispersed throughout the water column.”
Soon after, a young orca is seen eating the smaller fragments floating in the water, but the larger adults do not. It’s unclear if the 2025 footage shows the same group of orcas.
There could be a few reasons for this kind of activity, the report said: “Fragmentation may contribute to prey processing, social interaction and play, or the distribution of resources among all group members.” But it also appears to take “a high degree of cooperative precision”.
Orcas are known to be precise and cooperative hunters – also in the Gulf of California, they have been seen flipping great white sharks upside down to paralyse them, before snacking together on their energy-rich livers.
Read more:
