Video: Orca Launches Sea Turtle 30 Feet in the Air

Lead guide aboard M/Y Evolution, Rafael Pesantes, spotted an orca pod and quickly set off with the passengers to follow the developing scene. What transpired caught everyone off-guard, but they were able to get a laugh out of it.

The video, captured by Phil Courter on May 29 just off the Galapagos Islands, shows a pod of killer whales turning a green sea turtle into a Frisbee. As passengers watched nearby, suddenly one of the orcas blasts out of the water and launches a sea turtle nearly 30 feet in the air.

Though transient, orca pods are not uncommon in the Galapagos, and are seen very infrequently by visitors.

Orcas are opportunistic predators and feed on species including sea lions, dolphins, fish and in this case, green sea turtles.

P.S. Click here to see an orca punt a seal 80 feet into the air!

OutdoorHub Editor: Keenan Crow

Keenan Crow is an outdoor writer who graduated from Central Michigan University with a degree in journalism and creative writing. He has been writing for OutdoorHub for nearly five years, but anybody he is close with will tell you he has been telling hunting stories for far longer. He uses his experiences outdoors to write about things he loves - bow hunting, fishing, upland hunting, shed hunting, turkey hunting, waterfowl hunting, dog training, shotguns, ATVs and the outdoor lifestyle he lives in his home state of Michigan. Outside of hunting/fishing, he also loves to cook - especially with wild game - play golf and go on hikes with his yellow lab, Stella.