When a boatful of scientists and tourists recently came across several orcas attacking a minke whale off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, they knew they were in luck.

It was not only a chance to witness the little-seen phenomenon up close, but to record (via underwater microphone) the rarely heard calls the carnivorous mammals make after a kill. The scientists also deployed a drone, which gave them an unusual aerial view of the attack. (Read how orcas work together to whip up a meal.)

“The orcas went after the whale for a long time, the drone was up in the air when it practically stopped resisting—it was tired but still sprayed water from the blowhole,” says Inessa Yuryeva, a coordinator