Footage captured by workers in Chile.
Chilean fishing and aquaculture authority Sernapesca writes that Mowi Chile workers have captured a shocking event on camera close to a salmon farm in Aysén.
Orcas cornered sei whales in a shallow area, from where they could not escape. As a product of the attack, two sei whales died and the other three ended up dying stranded.
Sernapesca said that there have been no records in Aysén of an attack on animals as large and fast as sei whales, which can reach up to 27 metres. Sei whales are one of the fastest of all cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), able to reach speeds of up to 50 mph for short sprints.
Sernapesca Aysen Regional Director Cristian Hudson said, however, it was a “natural process of predation” from the orca side.
Hudson said that that thanks to the images recorded by the workers of the salmon farm “we were able to be privileged spectators of this event” and that they will conduct an investigation for scientific reasons.
