Video: Mother orca catches sea turtle; instead of eating it, spends minutes playing with it as calf looks on from nearby

A drone flying over the waters off Mexico's Baja California peninsula captured a remarkable wildlife encounter where a mother orca caught a sea turtle but didn't devour it immediately, and it let scientists believe it may be teaching her cub how to hunt in the water.

The footage, recorded by drone operator and Mares De Mexico founder Alonso Rodríguez, shows a mother killer whale catching a sea turtle before repeatedly rolling, spinning, and holding it underwater as her calf stays close by. Instead of killing the prey immediately, the orca appeared to spend several minutes manipulating the turtle, prompting scientists to consider whether the behavior was a form of teaching rather than play.

The encounter took place in the Gulf of California during a trip with local fishermen while Rodríguez was also working alongside researchers studying the region's orcas. Near sunset, a pod of nine killer whales approached the boat. After a mother and her calf separated from the group, Rodríguez launched his drone, which captured the rare aerial footage. National Geographic shared the video of the encounter.

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Rodríguez told National Geographic that, "I always try to have my camera with me and to be ready, because you never know when something's going to happen out there in the ocean." He added, "The moment that I saw the [turtle] come into frame, I was like, Wow, something different is going to happen."

Rather than feeding immediately after catching the turtle, the mother orca repeatedly handled the animal while her calf remained nearby, leading researchers to investigate whether the behavior was intended to help the younger whale learn essential hunting skills.

According to Phillipa Brakes, an animal behavior researcher at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, demonstrating teaching in wild animals is far more difficult than simply observing unusual behavior.

She told National Geographic that, "Teaching is a much higher bar because it requires you to think about the intent and theory of mind of the other individual, without being able to interview them."

Researchers generally look for three indicators when assessing whether teaching is taking place: whether the older animal changes its behavior in the presence of a younger one, whether that change helps the younger animal learn more effectively, and whether the older animal incurs a cost in time or energy.

In this case, scientists suggest the mother may have sacrificed feeding time by spending several extra minutes manipulating the turtle instead of consuming it immediately. Brakes said the footage is consistent with the idea that the mother was demonstrating how to disable prey while preventing it from escaping.

While researchers cannot yet confirm the behavior was deliberate teaching, the rare drone footage offers an unusually detailed glimpse into the social and hunting behavior of one of the ocean's most intelligent predators.