An orca hits the whale shark on the side of its head with its body while preying on the fish on May 26. Kelsey Williamson Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter .

In May, researchers captured orcas hunting whale sharks in unprecedented detail. Here, see the aftermath: An orca swims with shark carrion in its mouth. For the first time, scientists have ...

A whale shark is brought up near the surface of the water, and one orca is biting near its pelvic area. Kelsey Williamson. View 5 Images 1 / 5. ...

Killer whale in the Salish Sea is observed harassing a porpoise, (Wild Orca) The whale sharks were temporarily stunned and flipped over, enabling the orcas access to the lipid-rich liver of the fish.

The adult male killer whale Moctezuma and five other killer whales (two adult females, two juveniles, one calf), in the vicinity of the juvenile whale shark, measuring around 6 meters.

Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are the largest fish in the sea, weighing up to 40 tons (36 metric tons) and usually growing up to 40 feet (12 meters) long, according to the National Ocean Service.

Whale shark numbers are declining worldwide: the docile giants were listed as endangered in 2016. The hunting events in the study appeared to support that theory.

The average adult orca is around 20-feet-long (6 meters) and weighs six tons, while the average whale shark may extend as long as 45 feet (13.7 meters) and weigh up to 20 tons (some individual ...

An orca hits the whale shark on the side of its head with its body while preying on the fish on May 26. Kelsey Williamson Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter.