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Off the coast of Chile, in waters filled with krill and anchovy by the Humboldt Current system, live an elusive and little-known population of orcas. Thanks to citizen science and years of dedicated surveillance, a team of scientists led by Dr. Ana García Cegarra of the Universidad de Antofagasta is unveiling their secrets—starting with dinner.

García Cegarra's team, who previously observed these orcas using fishing boats to help them capture sea lions, have now spotted them successfully hunting dusky dolphins for the first time and sharing the food among the pod. This new evidence about their eating habits may help experts understand how populations of orcas in the southern hemisphere are linked, promoting conservation efforts.

"Studying orcas in their natural environment is very challenging as they are marine top predators, traveling long distances and living offshore, which makes observation difficult," said García Cegarra, lead author of the study in Frontiers in Marine Science. "But understanding their role in the marine environment is crucial for the conservation of this poorly-known species in the Humboldt Current."

You are what you eat

Orcas are apex predators with an impressively varied diet—but not all orcas eat the same things. Populations can be assigned to different ecotypes based on their preferred foods, acoustics, and genetics, so understanding what the orcas of the Humboldt Current eat is a major step towards understanding where they fit in among the other orcas of the world.

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