The hunting tactics in which all members’ participation is essential are fundamental to their survival. Why Killer Whales Attack Sharks They’ve proven that they can easily disarm a great white in an attack. There have reportedly been incidents where an orca attempted to hunt a human, but broke off the hunt immediately upon realizing it wasn’t a sea lion. Orcas were given the name ‘killer whale’ by ancient sailors’ observations of groups of orcas hunting and preying on larger whale species. Some orcas for example, particularly those living in northern latitudes including the North Pacific and Antarctica, only hunt fish, while others exclusively hunt seals. Orcas are exceptionally intelligent animals and can even coordinate hunting behavior in packs like wolves. Indeed orcas prey on sperm, gray, fin, humpback, and many other whales, which is why whalers called them killers of whales. Their carnivorous diets are diverse and range from fish and penguins to seals, sea lions and whales, as well as fish, … Many don't hunt whales at all. Social structure and behavior of killer whales. Killer whales, also called orcas, hunt everything from fish to walruses – seals, sea lions, penguins, squid, sea turtles, sharks and even other kinds of whales are all on their menu. Orcas are highly social, and they interact with each other actively; they usually search for food as a group. Endangered southern resident killer whales sport "DTags," sensors that help scientists understand how orcas hunt. Orcas sound frequencies vary according to the prey they wish to hunt as marine mammals such as pinnipeds can easily detect those sounds. They called orcas asesina ballenas, or ‘whale killer’ – a term that was eventually flipped around to the easier ‘killer whale’. Killer whale groups or pods can gather from 2 to 15 individuals. Some use very short sounds and others remain silent. Okay, so we’ve established that killer whales are pretty darned smart -- they have a culture with specific behaviors, a picky diet, and they know that we don’t taste very good. (Candice K. Emmons under U.S. … Orca make a human-like scream as they hunt whales and dolphins, and it turns out that these cetaceans use it as a warning of an imminent attack. But the question remains: why do orcas bother hunting these sharks at all? They know that when dealing with fish noise does not matter, but when hunting other marine mammals they should remain silent. They called orcas asesina ballenas, or ‘whale killer’ – a term that was eventually flipped around to the easier ‘killer whale’. Depending on the season and where they are, their diet varies – some eat plenty of fish and squid, others feast mostly on seals and penguins. Orcas were given the name ‘killer whale’ by ancient sailors’ observations of groups of orcas hunting and preying on larger whale species. Killer whales - or orcas - are one of the most powerful predators in the world, stalking the ocean with their distinctive black-and-white color and using a variety of sounds and echolocation to hunt and communicate with other members of their pods. Orcas haven’t been documented, however, cooperatively hunting with whales.