Orca pod captured in savage attack on a beaked whale near WA’s Bremer Canyon

Through a blood-soaked scene of watery chaos, killer whales lived up to their name off WA’s south coast last week as they tore apart their hapless prey.

The orca pod was captured by Naturaliste Charters surging up to 50km/h as they savaged a beaked whale near Bremer Canyon.

“We observed the pod of orca moving through the water before slowing and submerging,” marine biologist Bianca Uyen said.

“A few resurfaced and began thrashing around in the water, tail-slapping and rolling before emerging with the carcass of a beaked whale.

“They proceeded to tear the flesh off the animal revealing its internal organs and releasing a pool of blood into the water, after which they dived deep to supposedly share the meat between the pod.”

Ms Uyen said in the four years Naturaliste Charters had been operating at Bremer Canyon, such a predation had only been seen “a handful of times”.

She said orcas had a varied diet which included whales, dolphins, pinnipeds, fish and cephalopods.

But because of the elusive nature of most species of beaked whales, she could not be sure which type was involved in the latest predation. It was likely to have been either a Strap-toothed, Gray’s, Hectors or True’s beaked whale from the Mesoplodon genus.

“From the imagery we can confirm that it was a juvenile however without DNA sample we are unable to make any further conclusions,” she said.