Well, Killer Whales do belong to the dolphin family and Dolphins are ill disposed. I would imagine something similar at work here.
Killer whales are actually one of the few groups of animals that will kill for "sport". When food supplies are plentiful though solitary big cats, such as leopards, cheetahs, and tigers, will kill for sport as well.
http://www.cnn.com/EARTH/9804/30/orca.whale.attack/ There is the video. Very interesting indeed, though kind of sad.
Killer whales attacking bigger targets, evidence suggests PREDATION: Mauled gray whale washed up on Barrow beach offers latest example. By JOEL GAY Anchorage Daily News Published: October 4, 2003 Such attacks are not uncommon, and perhaps increasing, say indigenous whalers who have watched the drama play out for eons. But biologists don't know whether the distinctive black-and-white orcas are killing gray whales more frequently, driven to larger prey by changes in the Bering Sea ecosystem. The killer whales would follow a gray whale into Isanotski Strait, better known as False Pass, and sometimes herd it toward shore. "It seemed like they corralled the gray in the shallows, leaving nowhere for it to go," Laukitis said. With the gray whale just under the surface, orcas launched themselves out of the water and crashed onto its back over and over, Laukitis said. "They were obviously trying to drown it, or keep it down, or tire it out," she said. "It's heart-wrenching to watch a baby gray be attacked and try not to interrupt." The aftermath was gruesome, Laukitis said. "The only thing that's gone is the throat and tongue. You wonder why they take only that piece and leave the rest of the carcass." Full article: http://www.adn.com/alaska/story/4077448p-4095916c.html
Orca playing with a seal... Interesting article w/ more pictures on Orcas 'intentional stranding' behavior: http://www.biganimals.com/argentina_orca.html Cheetah are the only land animals to hunt Killer Whales, it's quite a display...
Agh! you beat me to it. Killer Whales build up a ton of speed towards the beach and then lunge out of the water to grab a sea lion. Then, they squirm their way back into the water. But they don't just kill the sea lion right there - oh no. They take it out to see and play ping pong with it for a while. While the sea lion is still alive, they will swat it out of the water to another killer whale who will swat it back. The sea lion goes flying through the air, end over end, screaming in pain over and over again until it is dead and tenderized, at which time the killer whales chow down. People get misconeptions of killer whales from the tame ones at Seaworld and from Free Willy, but make no mistake, in the wild they are some bad ass mo-fo's. -- droxford
The most intersting thing that I have seen about this behaviour with the seals is that once the Orcas have had their fill they go back for one more, play with it like they did the other ones and then let it go. They don't cal them Killer Whales because their nice, but man that's kind of sick and disturbed. Could you imagine if someone had managed to lock a bunch of people in a glass room, take them out one at a time, beat the crap out of them for everyone to see, and finally shooting them in the head, and just keep on repeating the process until there was only one person left. He starts in on that last person like all the rest and then looks down and says, "OK you can go now". That guy would be locked up for life.
