Watch an orca smash into a sunfish hard enough to make it explode

Killer whales might pulverize their prey to help feed their young — or just have fun

New footage shows orcas colliding with sunfish to make them explode. Perhaps it’s to break these massive fish into smaller bites. But maybe it’s just for fun.

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Orcas have been known to slap around stingrays, punt seals into the air and otherwise play with their food. But orcas, or killer whales, don’t just toy with live prey . Some also seem to enjoy destroying the corpses of their kills like piñatas.

Scientists documented this brutal activity in the Gulf of California in 2024 and 2025. In both cases, one adult orca held a dead sharp-tail sunfish steady. A second then slammed into it with enough force to smash the sunfish to smithereens.