Watch Mother Whale Desperately Trying to Save Calf From Brutal Orca Attack

A group of orcas has been filmed attacking and killing a gray whale calf as its mother desperately tries to save it from the brutal assault that lasted three hours.

Nature photographer and filmmaker Jaklyn Larsen captured the heartbreaking footage on May 8 off the coast of Oregon.

Larsen subsequently shared some of the footage online, where it has gained hundreds of thousands of views. "I had just witnessed something few get to see in real life, a moment in nature that I never imagined I would have the opportunity to see, let alone film," she told Newsweek.

Larsen had seen reports from online observers that five orcas, or killer whales, were off the north coast of Oregon and heading south, potentially hunting a gray whale.

Larsen, who lives on the central Oregon coast, grabbed her gear and headed north to an observation area called the Devils Punchbowl, which overlooks the spot where the whales were last reported to be that day.

"I approached the overlook where about two dozen other people were watching the water and instantly saw action," she said. "Large splashes, fins and blows from the breaths of what was obviously more than just five orca were visible to the naked eye."

She saw no fewer than nine killer whales. "I lifted my camera and could see there was a frenzy of action happening. The mother gray and her calf were trying to avoid the killer whales, but they were relentless."

Larsen observed the mother whale's desperate attempts to protect her calf, but in the end she was not able to save the youngster from the highly synchronized attack of the predators.

"I could see orcas breach out of the water on occasion, as many as three together at once in nearly perfect unison," Larsen said. "The breaths of the gray and her calf were visible between their dives below the surface. It appeared that the mother was trying her best to stay between the orcas, but after a while I noticed only her breaths."

Larsen was not able to see much from her location on the shore, even with a telephoto lens, so she decided to launch a drone to get a better view.

"I launched my drone, and it became evident as soon as the whales came into view that the calf was already deceased," Larsen said.

While the orcas can be seen constantly ramming the gray whale calf in the video, its likely cause of death was drowning.

"My understanding in all that I am continually learning from scientists and researchers is that though killer whales often deliver impactful blows to injure their prey, the way they tend to actually kill them is by drowning," Larsen said.

As she worked to film the action with the drone, the emotional impact of what she was seeing on the remote screen soon dawned on her.

"She continued to work to protect the body of her now deceased calf, the orcas swarming and maneuvering around her, separating her from it at times," Larsen said. "She would pursue them as they dove with it, continuing to try to stay by the side of her baby. As time passed, I could see her slowing down a bit. I am sure she received strikes from the orcas herself."

She continued: "As the killer whales continued to try to take the baby, there were several moments where she could be seen raising the calf towards the surface. Each time this happened while filming, I felt the tightness in my chest. I wanted nothing more than to cover my eyes. As a mom myself, watching this mother whale want nothing more than to protect her baby broke my heart."

But despite this, Larsen also recognized that in attacking the calf the orcas were only trying to sustain their own lives while also teaching their young ones how to survive.

The three-hour predation event started an hour before Larsen arrived. The mother gray whale stayed with her calf as best she could, and it was only well after sunset, as darkness closed in, that she slowly left the area. At this point, Larsen also left, feeling a "huge mix" of emotions.

"I left feeling in awe of the killer whales," she said. "To see how they can cooperatively work in formation as a team to hunt was nothing short of incredible. That sight left me speechless. And yet, as much as it was exciting and exhilarating to observe, it is incredibly difficult in regards to the mother gray and of her calf.

"Gray whales experience grief, killer whales too," Larsen said. "As I worked to review and edit footage and produce my videos, I found myself time and again vacillating between a sense of wonder and amazement at what I captured and feeling overwhelmed with sadness. I have shed many tears since that night."

Before sharing her images publicly, Larsen sent them to researchers who study orcas off the Oregon coast. No resident killer whales are in this region—the ones that are seen here are transient orcas.

Of the killer whales seen in the Pacific Northwest, resident orcas exclusively eat fish and remain in inland or nearby coastal waters. Transient orcas, meanwhile, eat only marine mammals and travel huge distances up and down the West Coast.

Larsen said she has a fascination with marine life and is constantly looking for beautiful moments to capture and share with others.

"My biggest hope in sharing this footage was not to create sensational content but to remind people how amazing, although sometimes beautifully brutal, our world is," she said. "Nature isn't always pretty. Viewing these moments can be difficult, especially from the viewpoint of humanity. Yet it's these kinds of opportunities that show us how a mother's love reaches not exclusive to the human species.

"It's these moments that teach us communication and teamwork is not solely a human trait," she continued. "It's moments like these that connect us with the wildlife around us. I hope...that we find ourselves reminded of how absolutely interconnected we are with the world around us."