7 intact sea otters found in beached orca, report says

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WASHINGTON (TND) — Six sea otters were found in the belly of a dead orca, while a seventh was stuck in the animal's throat, according to a newly released study.

Aquatic Mammals, a peer-reviewed journal, published the report in September.

The female killer whale was discovered dead off the coast of the Russian Commander Islands in the Bering Sea in 2020. Researchers went on to perform a necropsy on the animal and their findings have been made public.

Scientists investigating the orca's death found six sea otters in the animal's stomach, while a seventh was lodged between the animal's oral cavity and esophagus.

According to Newsweek, the otters weighed a combined 258 pounds.

Scientists believe the otter that was caught in the orca's throat potentially caused its death.

While orcas don't tend to eat otters, as they usually feast on seals, sharks, sea lions, salmon, as well as other whales, it's not unheard of.

"It is not common, but killer whales have been known to eat sea otters and have even been suggested as having played a role in their decline in Alaska in the 1990s,"Joseph K. Gaydos, who is a wildlife veterinarian and science director of the SeaDoc Society at the University of California, Davis, told Newsweek. "This adult female may have been hunting alone or the otters may have been just small enough for her to swallow them whole ... all except the last, which it sounds like could have caused her demise."

The orca, according to reports, was also far from her normal hunting ground.

Plus, scientists said it was odd the orca ate the otters whole, as they normally tear chunks of meat off their prey.

"Killer whales don't really chew their food, but instead usually break up their prey before swallowing it by thrashing it or tearing between several animals," Gaydos told Newsweek.