I’ve seen a lot of killer whales hunting humpback whales - The greatest showdown in the animal kingdom…
But nothing will ever compare to this day.

We were cruising 30 miles offshore observing this mother humpback whale and calf when these killer whales appear out of nowhere and take this baby whale.
You can see the orca attack and take the whale calf on the first pass, but this mother whale was relentless - pursuing and harassing these orca for hours after her calf had already perished.

This mother whale’s despair was evident as we observed her lash out in devastation after losing her baby, a reaction which we as humans should find all too relatable.
Though the baby was already dead, the mother wasn’t willing to let the orca enjoy their meal without a fight.
There’s nothing rational or instinctual about what we witnessed this day. In fact, it’s a totally irrational and emotional response from a devastated mother who lost her baby.
Whales are so heavily invested in their offspring. After an 11 month gestation period, mother humpback whales nurse their calves with up to 150 gallons of milk per day and lose 1/3 of their body weight as they migrate 13,000km from Antarctica to the northwest of Australia and back.
This huge personal sacrifice is all for nought when the killer whales come to feed… A demoralizing loss for this traumatized mother…

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