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Wild Killer Whales Put on a Show

Residents of Puget Sound's Vashon Island were recently treated to the sight of dozens of killer whales hunting for salmon. What's odd about the event is how close these massive predators came to shore.
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Naturalist with the National Wildlife Federation and NatGeo WILD Host

Naturalist with the National Wildlife Federation and NatGeo WILD Host
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This week's Animal Oddity is about some uncommon killer whale behavior captured on video. Residents of Puget Sound's Vashon Island were recently treated to the sight of dozens of killer whales hunting for salmon. The large group was made up of several different killer whale family groups, called pods. What's odd about the event is how close these massive predators came to shore.

There are several different kinds of killer whales. Those known as resident killer whales live in large pods and feed on fish. Transient killer whales live in smaller family groups and feed on marine mammals, including seals, seal lions and other dolphins and whales.

While we've all seen videos of transient killer whales launching themselves on shore to capture seal pups, fish-eating resident killer whales rarely come so close to shore.

The video below captures the encounter. It's a little shaky but how can you not feel the excitement of this rare wildlife encounter in the awe-struck gasps and delighted shrieks of the people watching from the shore?

Get the latest odd animal news, stories, videos and behaviors on my Animal Planet blog, Animal Oddities.

Learn More About Killer Whales.

PROFILE: Meet the Orca
VIDEO: Killer Whale Mimics Boat
PUZZLE: Put the Orca Pieces Together
HELP: Adopt a Killer Whale with National Wildlife Federation

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