Orcas have a special way of hunting herring, through a quick turn and their powerful tails sending shockwaves through the water to stun the fish. Large shoals of herring gather in the winter months, and it’s not just orcas that take advantage of the feast.
Features
Good NATURE: Santa’s Wild Home
Additional clips, stories and parent/teacher resources from Nature's film, "Santa's Wild Home."
Follow Thousands of Reindeer on an Epic Journey
Witness the mass migration of hundreds of thousands of reindeer in Lapland.
Preview of Santa's Wild Home
Journey to Lapland, where tales of Santa Claus mingle with hearty wildlife.
TRANSCRIPT
- [Narrator] The land may freeze over, but the sea doesn't.
Herring, they come to wait out the winter months in huge numbers, and hunters follow.
Orca, the wolves of the sea.
Winter's return marks the start of a great feast.
They follow the herring into shallow waters.
And with so many fish around, picking them off is easy for a pod that knows how.
Orcas here have a special way of catching herring.
A quick turn of speed and their powerful tails send shockwaves through the water, stunning the fish.
Shoals this big make it hard to miss.
(birds cawing) It's not just orcas that take advantage of the feast.
Humpback whales.
They can swallow hundreds of fish in single, giant mouthful.
With billions of herring gathered here, this spectacle will last all through the long winter.