{"id":2186499,"date":"2025-04-22T06:00:34","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T04:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/?p=2186499"},"modified":"2025-04-18T13:58:48","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T11:58:48","slug":"incredibly-rare-sight-of-60-orcas-hunting-a-pygmy-blue-whale-caught-on-camera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/incredibly-rare-sight-of-60-orcas-hunting-a-pygmy-blue-whale-caught-on-camera\/","title":{"rendered":"Incredibly Rare Sight Of 60 Orcas Hunting A Pygmy Blue Whale Caught On Camera"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tourists and researchers on a whale-watching boat off the coast of Western Australia got a little more action than they bargained for when they witnessed a pygmy blue whale being hunted and eventually predated upon by a huge pod of orcas.<\/p>\n

Pygmy blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) are a subspecies of the largest creature ever to live and despite their name, are still huge, growing to 24 meters (78 feet) and weighing 90 tons (90,000 kilograms or 180,000 pounds). The pygmy blue whale is listed as Endangered under the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act and sightings of these creatures are not that common.<\/p>\n

The pygmy whale in question was thought to be around 18 meters long (59 feet) and was hunted and killed by a pod of more than 60 orcas including juveniles (you can even spot the very young which have a peachy color).<\/p>\n