Otter populations in the Commander Islands have been decreasing in recent years.
Arthur Morris/Getty Images
A beached killer whale was dissected in the Commander Islands in 2020.
Scientists were surprised to find seven fully intact sea otters in the orca’s stomach.
They were puzzled because the orca was far from home and because orcas usually don’t eat otters.
Orcas are known for being picky eaters.
They’ll normally hunt fish, dolphins, seals, sea lions, whales, and even sharks. Whatever they grab, they normally tear apart their food, devouring the most nutrient-dense parts.
That’s why scientists in Russia were perplexed when they dissected a beached orca in 2020 and found not one, not two, but seven fully intact sea otters in her gastrointestinal tract. She had probably swallowed them whole.
Combined, the sea otters weighed a whopping 242 pounds. But why sea otters? And why eat them whole?
She probably either had from a health condition or was driven by hunger, scientists reported in a study published on Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal Aquatic Mammals.
“Their traditional diets may have dwindled, this individual was starving or it became savvy at picking out otters as easy prey from a coastal gulley,” Alex Ford, a professor of biology at the University of Portsmouth who wasn’t involved with the study, told Newsweek.
What killed the killer whale?
The aftermath of the dissection of the whale, showing the seven otters found in its stomach.
Sergey V. Fomin
Ultimately, her unusual hunting behavior is what may have led to her death, the scientists suspect.
One of the sea otters was found lodged in the orca’s esophagus, blocking her respiratory tract. The scientists said she probably died of asphyxiation, unable to breathe.
Bottlenose dolphins, a close relative of orcas, have also been known to die this way when fish get lodged the wrong way, according to the study.
A long way from home
Killer whales are known for their meticulous hunting skills.
Reuters
Whatever was driving her, this killer whale was a long way from home.
DNA analysis revealed that she belonged to a well-known pod called Bigg’s Whales, which keep to the Eastern Pacific around the Aleutian Islands, Gulf of Alaska, and coastline of California, LiveScience reported.
But this female was found on the other side of the ocean, along the shores of the Commander Islands, which is nearly 2,000 miles from the Gulf of Alaska.
Why she swam all that way and why she seemingly swallowed seven otters whole may never be entirely clear.