Orcas, or killer whales, are the largest of the dolphins and one of the world's most powerful predators. They feast on marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, and even whales, employing teeth that can be four inches long. They are known to grab seals right off the ice.
Orcas are the largest of all carnivores on earth that feed on a wide variety of foods, they are found in almost all oceans, from the tropics to the Arctic and Antarctic where they will go deep into the pack-ice to hunt seals and penguins. They are commonest in coastal waters and in cool temperate and sub polar seas.
Orcas are apex predators, at the top of the food chain. No other animals (except for humans) hunt orcas. Killer whales feed on sea birds, squid, octopuses, sea turtles, sharks, rays and fish. They also eat most marine mammals, such as seals and dugongs.Nov 20, 2014
The killer whales also may kick up the seals to loosen the animals' skin, which they don't eat, says Ingrid Visser of the Orca Research Trust in New Zealand. ... Besides helping to disable the prey, the orcas might fling them up into the air just “for fun,” a cetacean version of “playing with its food,” Westdal says.Oct 29, 2015
Orcas are less common in tropical waters. PREY: The orca is at the top of the marine food web. Their diet items include fish, squid, seals, sea lions, walruses, birds, sea turtles, otters, other whales and dolphins, polar bears and reptiles. They even have been seen killing and eating swimming moose.
Several populations of skilled orcas around the world have learned how to overcome sharks using a combination of superior brain power and brute force. The Great White and Mako are just two of at least nine species of shark known to be eaten by some orca families.Nov 27, 2009