A clash between giants took place in the Salish Sea on the US west coast with a three-hour brawl between orcas and humpback whales.
The Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) witnessed the rare event on 29 September near the US/ Canada border.
Crew members aboard a whale-watching charter service were the first to locate around 15 killer whales unusually active on the surface of the ocean before a captain on another whale-watching tour noticed two humpback whales in their midst.
‘I’m still trying to wrap my head around it because it was absolutely unbelievable’, says Mollie Naccarato, captain and naturalist for Sooke Coastal Explorations on south Vancouver Island.
‘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 have proven themself to be capable hunters, preying on great white sharks in South Africa and hunting blue whales – the biggest animal on earth.
While whale season is in full swing in South Africa, will the infamous orca pair of Port and Starboard try their luck with the humpback whales?
Watch the encounter between the orcas and humpback whales below.
Picture: Getaway Gallery
ALSO READ: Elephant charges at guides in Kruger in close encounter
