August 26, 2026, 6:54 am | Read time: 3 minutes
An orca holds a giant sunfish, and a second one rushes in. Seconds later, thousands of fish pieces fly through the water. Researchers have now scientifically documented this spectacular hunting behavior for the first time. But why do orcas dismember their prey in this way?
Giant Sunfish Are Dismembered into Small Pieces
Orcas are considered the most intelligent hunters of the seas. They hunt sharks, seals, and even large whales–and continually surprise researchers with new hunting techniques. Scientists have now observed a behavior in the Gulf of California that has never been scientifically described before.1
In this unusual strategy, one orca holds the already dead sharp-tailed sunfish by the tail fin while a second orca charges at the carcass at high speed. At the last moment, the first orca lets go. The impact is so forceful that the giant fish, weighing up to two tons, shatters into countless small pieces.
Overall, the research team documented two nearly identical incidents in July 2024 and another in September 2025. During the first event, study leader Dr. Kathryn Ayres observed a group of orcas with a calf. After the marine animals had already killed the sunfish, a female held the carcass while a male orca rammed it with full force. The tissue broke into numerous small pieces that then floated in the water. Notably, the calf primarily ate the small pieces of flesh, while the adult orcas fed on the larger remains.
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Researchers Have Two Explanations
Why orcas exhibit this behavior is not yet clearly understood. However, researchers consider two possibilities particularly likely. The first explanation: The adult animals make it easier for their young to eat. Orcas often share their prey with calves and juveniles. By deliberately dismembering the sunfish, they could transform it into bite-sized portions.
The second possibility is much more surprising: The action could simply be a game. Orcas are known to play with their prey or display unusual behaviors that do not directly serve the purpose of feeding. Therefore, scientists do not rule out that the spectacular ramming might also serve as entertainment or social interaction within the group.
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A Completely New Strategy
Particularly noteworthy is that in two cases, the sunfish were already dead before being rammed. The ramming was apparently not intended to kill the prey but solely to process it into small pieces.
According to the research team, this is a coordinated collaboration. One orca stabilizes the carcass so that the other can hit it as precisely as possible. Such a technique has never been scientifically described in orcas before.
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Orcas Continually Surprise Researchers
In recent years, scientists have documented ever-new hunting strategies of killer whales. Some populations specifically hunt sharks and eat only their energy-rich liver. Others collaborate with dolphins or create waves to wash seals off ice floes. The method now observed once again demonstrates how flexible and capable of learning orcas are.
However, it is still unclear whether the same animals were behind both observations. To find out, researchers will need better video footage in the future, where the dorsal fins and the distinctive white eye patches of individual orcas can be clearly identified. “We are still discovering new techniques that orcas use to hunt and process their prey,” says study leader Kathryn Ayres. “Although they are among the most well-known marine predators in the world, they continue to surprise us.”