Adventure Video: Killer Whales’ Cunning Seal Hunting Technique

Text by Laura Buckley

We now have 40 Wild Chronicles videos, hosted by National Geographic's own Boyd Matson, up on our site. In each episode, top explorers and field scientists traverse the globe, from Antarctica to Iceland, to report on the state of the natural world.

One of our favorites is "Antarctic Orca Hunting"—not because we particularly enjoy watching these killer whales find their food source (read: kill), but because nature is just plain fascinating. The video begins with a brief overview of summertime in Antarctica, where the balmy 30-degree water is the food court for its inhabitants. But the main action happens around the 3:30 mark, when a group of seven orcas hunt together, a feat rarely captured on video. The whales circle around a lone seal stretched out on a small ice floe—begging the term "sitting duck" to be renamed—and employ amazing techniques to not only kill the seal, but teach the youngin' orcas how to hunt. Fascinating stuff.