Humpback whales rush to stop hungry orcas from hunting in CA. Celebration followed

Humpback whales were spotted trying to stop orcas from hunting off the coast of California in a “rare” interaction, boaters said.

The “once in a lifetime trip” took place on Oct. 5, when boaters came across the killer whale orca pod known as CA51A’s, according to a Facebook post by the Monterey Bay Whale Watch.

When boaters arrived, the orcas were mid-hunt, attempting to snag a sea lion before a humpback whale pair decided to “charge into the area.”

Eventually, the orcas were swarmed by at least four humpbacks trying to disrupt their hunt, boaters said.

Although the hunt was a success, the humpback whales didn’t stop there as they even tried to prevent the orcas from feeding, boaters said.

Then, the humpbacks “gave up,” leading to a “celebratory breaching” from the orcas, boaters said.

Killer whales are known to be the ocean’s top predator, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The highly social animal usually travels in pods of a few individuals to 20 or more, NOAA said.

As for why the humpbacks felt the need to attempt to protect the sea lion, scientists have theorized that the whales may engage in “altruistic behavior” as a means to help another species, according to Phys’ website.

Another theory behind the protection is that humpback whales are known to “drive off killer whales” as a means to protect their babies, and any signs of attacking may cause them to enter protector mode, the idea behind wanting to help any other animal in distress “could not be ruled out,” the website read.

Toward the end of the trip, boaters saw an orca named Andi breach multiple times by the boat along with her daughter, Astrid, also leaping out of the water, boaters said.

Monterey is about a 120-mile drive southeast from San Francisco.