If You Like Dolphins, Or Are A Bit Squeamish,

it might be an idea to skip this post, 

a pod of killer whales was being monitored by García-Cegarra, who is a researcher at the University of Antofagasta, who has been tracking this particular pod, which is led by a matriarch named Dakota, and four more orcas, but as captured by drone footage the pod changed from its normal diet of sea lions, to dolphins, for no apparent reason, in Pacific waters near Antofagasta, a killer whale hurled a small dusky dolphin into the air before devouring it, moments later, four more orcas arrived to join the feast, “Such a thing has never been recorded in Chilean waters,” García-Cegarra says, since 2018, García-Cegarra’s team hasn’t monitored Dakota’s pod alone, they have collaborated with local tour operators and fishermen in a citizen science initiative, over the years, these partners have submitted photos and videos, “Orcas are the top predators of marine ecosystems. Changes in their diets may be an indicator of a shift in the distribution of their prey due to climate change,” said Carlos Olavarría, a marine biologist at Chile’s Centre for Advanced Studies on Arid Zones, who was not part of the study, at the moment climate change appears to be the culprit leading to this behaviour, from the article:

“It’s a fascinating discovery,” said Josh McInnes, a marine biologist at the University of British Columbia in Canada, who has studied orcas along California’s coastline and was not part of the new paper. “The more we know about their behaviour and what they’re eating is important because they are in a place where a lot of things are changing.” 

‘Rising ocean temperatures are reshaping species’ distribution and behaviour, driving key fish like anchovies and sardines to migrate toward cooler waters. This shift disrupts food chains that support top predators such as orcas, McInnes said. Additionally, warmer waters are fuelling more frequent harmful algal blooms, which deplete oxygen and create dead zones, endangering the survival of fish and other marine life’ the full article is here.