<\/p>
Biologists have published the first observations of orcas hunting and eating an adult blue whale, the largest animal ever to have existed.<\/p>\n
Flinders University<\/a> biologist Isabella Reeves was among those who\u00a0witnessed the event from a research boat off south-west Australia.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was pouring down with rain, there was lightning in the background. I was at the point where I was starting to feel seasick when we stumbled across it,\u201d she says. \u201cI forgot all about my\u00a0seasickness. We just had to gather as much data as\u00a0we could.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> The observations\u00a0are presented in all their grisly detail\u00a0in the journal Marine Mammal Science<\/em><\/a>. The attack involved about 14 orcas and was led by the adult females. The blue whale was estimated to be 18-22m long and was apparently healthy.<\/p>\n After it had died and sunk to the seabed, about 50 orcas were seen bringing lumps of flesh to the surface and sharing them. The team has since witnessed the same group hunting two blue whale calves.<\/p>\n Please note that external videos may contain ads:<\/em><\/p>\nFind out more about orcas<\/h4>\n