Incredible rare footage shows a pod of orcas and sperm whales in a fraught battle. <br /><br />The large pod of orcas can be seen laying siege to a maternal pod of sperm whales, possibly to steal prey. <br /><br />A whale-watching vessel filmed the extremely rare event on March 24 in the Bremer Canyon, 70km off the coast from Bremer Bay, Western Australia, Australia. <br /><br />Naturaliste Charters, a whale-watching company, had been tracking the orcas as they searched for food. <br /><br />But the giant predators suddenly attacked a group of sperm whales, resulting in a long and savage battle. <br /><br />Jenna Tucker, a marine biologist who was on board the vessel, said: "Everyone was on the lookout for a small dorsal fin and long slender body, characteristic of beaked whale species.<br /><br />"Instead, what we saw left our jaws gaping, the unmistakable arched back<br />and tail of a sperm whale."<br /><br />The pod of orcas, in the dozens, swam circles around the five whales, who huddled together and attacked them.<br /><br />Jennah didn't notice any injuries but saw a large dark bubble which she initially suspected was blood. <br /><br />She also saw an orca swim away with a piece of meat, although she can't confirm if it came from a sperm whale. <br /><br />She said: "The group of sperm whales appeared distressed and exhausted, huddled in a tight group.<br /><br />"Members of Split Tip’s pod [orcas] including Wonks and Flapper swam tight circles around the huddled sperm whales who were thrashing their tails around to fend off the predators.<br /><br />"The head of one of the larger adults emerged from the surface, with its mouth wide open, displaying its powerful toothed bottom jaw.<br /><br />"Then, a large dark bubble rose to the surface amongst the huddle, believed at the time to have been blood."<br /><br />According to Jennah, this was an extremely rare sight as both animals are predators but they tend to leave each other alone, <br /><br />While the origin of the meat and the dark bubble remains unknown, Jennah suspects the liquid was feces. <br /><br />She explained: "Historically, it was thought that sperm whales, due to their size, herding behaviour and strong-toothed jaws were not vulnerable to killer whale predation.<br /><br />"Sperm whales are known to defecate when threatened, referred to as emergency or defensive defection.<br /><br />"Events like this are rarely witnessed, let alone documented, with only a handful of accounts having been recorded globally and will always remain an immense privilege and a reminder of just how wild these animals and this place are."
