- Orcas in the Gulf of California were filmed cooperating to ram a sunfish, causing it to explode into scraps.
- The behavior may serve two purposes: making it easier for juvenile orcas to feed on smaller scraps, and serving as a social bonding and play activity.
- Researchers observed orcas holding the sunfish steady while a male charged head-first into it at high speed, using its skull as a ram.
- The sunfish's tough, rubbery outer layer makes it difficult to tear open, so the high-impact ramming breaks it into manageable pieces.
- Similar orca-sunfish interactions, including 'booping' and playful pushing, have been documented off the coast of Australia.
- Sunfish show evasive behaviors like flipping upside down or thrashing fins to protect vulnerable body parts from orca attacks.