Watch: Bigg's killer whales take down a massive Steller sea lion

When mammal-eating orcas find their prey, the ensuing fight for survival is always brutal, but their grace and power ensure the outcome. With video and photo gallery.

Bigg's orcas hunt Steller sea lion

My first few decades of observing wild killer whales in the Salish Sea and elsewhere has been largely devoted to salmon-eating resident orcas, whose predatory behavior is mostly hidden from view and is not terribly disturbing to observe (they sometimes surface with fish in their mouths). It’s all a relatively benign affair.

But in recent years—especiall…