Bloody killer whale predation on female elephant seal

Disclaimer: this is a scientific research video, showing the actual behavior of wild animals in natural settings and is fully uncensored. Sometimes, animal behavior can be disturbing to the sensibility of some people, therefore viewers discretion is advised.

Elephant seal female predated by killer whales off the coast of Sea Lion Island (Falkland Islands). Observing killer whales from the air (drone) gives an invaluable perspective on their behavior, which is very difficult to appreciate from shore or even from a boat. Here Puma's pod (a well known orcas pod in the Falklands) got a female elephant seal that was probably coming back to shore for her moulting period. Surely a very good meal. Interesting to see the newborn (called Pepper), only a few weeks old, actively participating to the feast ! And a very bloody end, it is incredible how bright red is elephant seal blood !
In this occasion our drone (DJI Mavic Pro Platinum) gave its best at filming this incredible event just before...going for a swim in the ocean :-( Sigh sigh sigh...it gave us a remote controller error, lost connection with the app (meaning we couldn't see exactly where it was) and finally started descending too quick until...puff, a big dive ! This is the reason for the low resolution in the video, it is the one streamed live on the connected tablet !

[TwiceSmittenOnceShy]

Idk what I’m more shocked by- the fact that the thumbnail wasn’t clickbait/photoshop or how much the seal actually bled out.

[gabino]

I wonder how many sharks smelled blood, came to investigate, saw what was happening and thought, "I'm getting the hell out of here!"

[francus]

As a 25 year RN.... I can tell you that blood is like paint. Mixing with water just makes it bigger. One ounce of blood in a gallon of water will look like a gallon of blood. One drop will make a whole gallon pink.

[NT-fome]

Just amazing. Drones are really giving a new perspective to nature video. You can clearly see how coordinated the attack was and that it was a team effort.

[NikhilShahi]

The attack was really well orca-strated. The victim's fate was sealed.

[HeartBreakJ]

Me: 2:46 “man I knew this was click bait. Ain’t no sea lion going to paint the waters red like that…”
Also me: 3:00 “Oh! Fuck!”

[lync]

That one orca spitting water be like: nothing to see here, here's a rainbow.

[kingofkings]

Imagine sharks sensing all that blood and thinking that its gonna be an easy meal. only to see the orcas responsible for it

[mermaidandpearls]

I have seen documentaries explaining how once captured, the “live” prey is then given to young members of the family to practice preying on before the entire family then share it. This footage shows it so well. Such amazing video, thank you 🖤🤍

[OregonOutdoorsChris]

What shocked me was at how big the elephant seal was! I'm used to seeing orcas absolutely outsize everything except baleen whales... and yet here's a seal that was a significant portion of the size of a full grown orca. Wow!

[HomeDefender]

It’s amazing how well coordinated and relentless the attack was…. Even giving the younger orcas a turn to run coordinated attacks…. Absolutely fascinating.

[valdivia]

It's hard to imagine what animals in the ocean think when they see Orcas coming their way. Terror I presume.

[GojiCenter]

Imagine sharks showing up and seeing the killer whales like "o_o.... tfo"

[Akhillees]

Imagine knowing you're gonna die but being toyed around by a group

[lesleymoir]

Oh my God, I genuinely thought the thumbnail was gonna be clickbait! The speed that blood came out was unreal! Wow, just wow...

[carloscostajr]

The prey doesn't have a chance to catch his breath, doesn't have a moment's peace. Orcas attack is devastating

[ToeTag]

Hard to watch, but it's amazing just how smart and calculating orca can be. Great footage.

[meetmeajith]

Stunning video and to think a female elephant seal is well over 1000kg and toying with such a big animal is unimaginable

[YoJoRockThaBeat]

Absolutely ruthless and tactical. Makes me wonder how Orcas would stack up against some of the more ancient aquatic life.

[thecrazyslopoke]

Crazy how these guys are usually super friendly to people but when they're hunting all bets are off. Exhaust their prey until they drown.