Japan's coast guard has released dramatic video of footage about 500 dolphins fleeing a pack of orcas, commonly known as killer whales.
Reuters news agency reports the video was filmed from a Japanese Coast Guard patrol vessel off the coast of Nagasaki prefecture in southern Japan on Thursday.
Japan's Seventh Regional Headquarters says the camera captured the dolphin pod making a life-or-death attempt to escape.
The footage shows at least three whales chasing the dolphins. Orcas are thought to live and hunt in groups, anywhere from Arctic to tropical waters.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates there are at least 50,000 killer whales in the wild.
The whales hunt a wide range of prey including fish, marine mammals, sea turtles and cephalopods.
Reuters news agency reports the video was filmed from a Japanese Coast Guard patrol vessel off the coast of Nagasaki prefecture in southern Japan on Thursday.
Japan's Seventh Regional Headquarters says the camera captured the dolphin pod making a life-or-death attempt to escape.
The footage shows at least three whales chasing the dolphins. Orcas are thought to live and hunt in groups, anywhere from Arctic to tropical waters.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates there are at least 50,000 killer whales in the wild.
The whales hunt a wide range of prey including fish, marine mammals, sea turtles and cephalopods.