Killer Whales Don't Just Hunt in the Sea!

The Orca may look like one of the cutest animals in the sea, with it's cheeky grin, its playful nature, and its black and white coloring that makes it look kind of like a friendly underwater Panda.
But don't be fooled! The Orca is feared by almost every marine animal, including dolphins, sharks, and whales! yes, even the great white and the blue whale turn and flee when a pod of Orcas appears on the scene, and here is why...
1. Intelligence.
Orcas have the second-heaviest brain of all marine mammals, they communicate with other members of their pod using three different categories of sounds: pulsed calls, clicks, and whistles.
These sounds allow them to identify and share their location, the type of prey they are hunting, and the hunting method they intend to use.
Orcas in the Antarctic use a Wave-Hunting method to hunt Weddell, Crabeater, and Leopard seals that are resting on floating lumps of ice.
First, they pop their head out of the water to locate the position of their prey, this is called "Skyhopping", next, a small group get together and swim toward their target, at the last minute they raise their tails in unison creating a wave that washes over the floating ice and pushing the seal into the ocean where other Orcas are lying in wait.
2. Adaptability.
Orcas have a great ability to adapt to different conditions, they have been found in almost every large saltwater mass on the planet, they've even been spotted 160 kilometers up the Colombia River near Portland, and in the Thames River, London.
However, different oceans, different water temperatures, and different climates also mean different types of fish to prey on and therefore different hunting methods.
Here, the Orca is also able to adapt to the best hunting method for each type of prey, for example,
some pods around New Zealand feed mainly on sharks and rays, the Orcas hunt the bottom-dwelling rays by cornering them, pinning them down, and then taking them to the surface. Sharks are herded and forced up to the surface and then the Orcas hit them with their tail fins to stun them.
3. Teamwork
Orcas have group hunting techniques similar to wolves, in fact, they are often referred to as "The Wolves Of The Sea".
An example of this is seen in the Orca that reside around Greenland and Norway.
Here, the Orca use a technique called "Carousel fishing" to catch large quantities of herring.
The Orca behind by herding the herring into a large group, then they begin to circle them, flashing their white underbellies and blowing bubbles to compress them into a tight ball, then they slap the ball with their tail fin, stunning or killing dozens at a time.
Artic Orcas attack young Beluga whales by separating the young from the adults. They do this by driving them away from deeper waters.
The smaller juvenile whales can swim in shallower waters than the larger adult Belugas, by herding them all into shore, the larger whales are forced to stop before the juveniles, effectively separating them from their young and leaving them defenseless, the Orca can then feed without fear of being hurt by an adult.
4. Persistence.
Another similarity Orcas have with wolves is persistence. When hunting Dolphins, yes, Orcas hunt dolphins! they chase the pod until they can separate a single dolphin from it, then because of their superior stamina they can then pursue the dolphin until it tires and they can catch it. They use a similar technique when hunting whales, pursuing them, whilst ramming, hitting, and biting them until they are exhausted and can be dispatched easily.
5. Ability To Learn And To Teach.
Orcas have the ability to learn new hunting methods and to teach them to their young.
Adult Orcas have been seen gently pushing their young up to a beach so that they can learn how to beach themselves in order to catch seals and return safely back to sea.
Other Orcas have learned how to turn sharks onto their backs because this causes them to go into "Tonic Immobility" which is a trance-like state that leaves them extremely vulnerable to attack.
and some Orcas in captivity have learned how to leave out a piece of fish as bait in order to lure a bird close enough to catch it. It started with this four-year-old in Marineland, Canada, after a month of doing it his younger half-brother began copying him and soon after that both their mothers, their father, and a younger calf were all doing it.
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