Sydney, Australia – A group of killer whales has been documented bashing a sunfish to bits in an unusual underwater escapade, according to research released Thursday. Scientists say the footage offers never-before-seen insights into orca behavior.

US-based NGO Beneath The Waves released a video showing one orca holding the tail of a sunfish, while its friend charges with full force into the rotund mola, exploding it into pieces.

The sunfish is already dead, don't worry – this isn't an elaborate murder ritual.

Researcher Kathryn Ayres said it might be an attempt to turn the fish into smaller bite-sized chunks.

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"Or it could also just be for fun," she explained. "Orcas are known for playing with their food."

"Orcas often tear apart prey and share it with other members of the group, including calves and juveniles."

The antics were documented on two occasions in 2024 and 2025 off the Gulf of California, according to the research published in the peer-reviewed Frontiers in Ethology.

Mark Peter Simmonds, director of science at OceanCare, likened it to "human formal meals where socializing as well as nutrition are in play."

"Perhaps it is similar to the time when the lead human at a formal meal would carve up the roast," he told AFP.

Killer whales are highly intelligent apex predators and have been known to play with their prey and deploy sophisticated tactics to ensnare them.

They've been seen wearing dead salmon as hats for reasons that still remain a mystery.

Orcas have also been documented cooperating to create choppy waters and knock seals off sheets of ice. The system is called "wave washing," and makes seals easier to catch and eat.

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"It just really shows us how intelligent orcas are," scientist Rebecca Wellard from Western Australia's Curtin University, who was not involved in the research, told AFP.

Research last year showed these whales also use tools; a critically endangered orca population in the Salish Sea broke off pieces of seaweed to rub and groom each other.

"I hope that gives people more respect for complex creatures that are great predators in their environment."

Sunfish can weigh up to 2,000 kilograms and are distinct in both their size and peculiar shape, featuring a flattened body and fins.

Researchers noted that sunfish don't commonly explode: "They're a heavy, bony fish, so it must be some severe ramming," Wellard said.