A massive pod of up to 50 killer whales has been filmed for the first time off the coast of Scotland by a BBC crew. Gordon Buchanan, presenter of BBC Autumnwatch, filmed the group from a fishing boat in the North Sea. The killer whales are filmed approaching the fishing boat and feeding on mackerel that escape the fishing nets. The tenacious behaviour reveals an unlikely alliance between fishermen and predators of fish.

Killer whales (Orcinus orca), otherwise called orcas, live in family groups called pods and occur in British waters. As the largest member of the dolphin family, killer whales are known for their intelligence and range of hunting behaviours. The pod of killer whales caught on camera belong to a family group that has developed a particular hunting strategy; following mackerel fishermen and feeding on fish that escape their nets.

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Front Page Image Credit: NOAA