Humpback Whales Are Disrupting Orca Hunts to Protect Other Animals, and No One Knows Why Scientists have observed a mysterious and remarkable behavior in the ocean: humpback whales repeatedly interfering with orca (killer whale) hunts, even when the prey is not a humpback. These massive whales place themselves between orcas and their targets—seals, dolphins, sea lions, and even other whale calves—risking injury to protect species they have no biological reason to defend. • Researchers have recor