5. They Can Eat Nearly Anything, Including Birds
While we’ve talked about how orcas have spread across the world, becoming distinctive in their preferred prey, it’s also true that some regional groups are known as generalist eaters. Rather than having a specific species or type of prey, these groups will eat anything they can get. Worldwide, marine biologists saw them eating 140 different kinds of animals, including over 50 different types of marine mammals!
Orcas in the Antarctic, specifically, have been seen hunting and eating penguins. The birds they chase are smaller, and orcas seem specifically interested in the breast meat of penguins. They often meticulously picking off feathers and skin – sometimes with the help of other orcas. This behavior is highly unusual to scientists. The killer whale may only get a pound or two of meat – if that – from each penguin. When they need to eat hundreds of pounds of food a day, being so picky about the penguin makes little sense for survival.