An unprecedented fact surprised scientists and observers in front of the coast of El Doradillo, in northern Puerto Madryn, Argentina. For the first time, A group of Orcas He attacked and fed on a southern frank whale breedingand the moment was recorded in images and video.
The photographer Maxi Jonas It was the one who managed to document the event on Friday 1. August in Las Canteras beach, within the protected natural area El Doradillo, where The presence of orcs had never been recorded before.
This event provided new data on the behavior of these predators. A week earlier, they had been seen near the lobery of Punta Loma, south of the city. That day, They made variations to hunt sea wolves in an area where this type of maneuver is not usual.
Jonas received a notice of diving operators that were marine wolves. Upon learning of the attack, he ran to look for his drone and his camera. While heading towards Paraná Beach, he spotted the orcs by moving to Puerto Madryn and decided to follow them.
For more than a decade, Jonas has documented the Orcas season in the Valdés Peninsula. Ensures that, unlike free whales that usually remain still, The orcs move quickly and are difficult to detect. The breathing jet of each species is different, which allows them to distinguish them from the coast.
With the help of boats that followed the orcas, he managed to locate them when They headed towards the Doradilloarea with high concentration of free whales. That morning, at least 144 copies were counted, between mothers and young.
In El Doradillo it is common to observe these cetaceans from the coast during their reproduction and breastfeeding season, between June and December. The beach was included as the number 51 among the best in the world according to the “Golden Award 2024” of Beachatlas, for its ecological value and accessibility.
After following the Orcas, Jonas received reports again that they were in front of Madryn pursuing dolphins. Later, when returning to doradillo, found an unusual behavior scene. The whales grouped, breathed strongly and hit the water. From the coast, the fins of the orcs were seen.
When flying with the drone, it detected the presence of sea birds 700 meters from the coast, which indicated that something had been hunted. As he approached, he confirmed that the orcs They fed on a southern frank whale breedingsomething that had never been documented with certainty.
Although previous attacks were suspected, images of orcs had never been captured hunting this species. The adult whales tried to recover the breeding forming a defensive group and They hit their tails in an attempt to scare away the predators.
After recovering the body, the mother took him on his back, but the orcs resumed him and took him. The group of whales remained trying to rescue him for several minutes. When the orcs withdraw, One of the whales repeatedly inspected the remainspossibly the mother.
The recorded material has not yet been publishedbecause it is in analysis by scientists of the Valdés Orca Research Peninsula and the Whale Conservation Institute. According to the identification catalog, there are 30 resident orcas divided into family groups, recognizable by spots and body marks.
The event generates New information about its predatory behavior and social organization. Jonas, who has lived in Puerto Madryn for more than two decades, has dedicated his life to documenting these animals. Its content is viral in networks and has allowed many people to better understand free whales.
As explained, the recovery of the whale population has been remarkable since its hunting was prohibited. This has increased its presence even in bays close to urban areas.