Hunting orca in rolling dive,
​Noyo Center for Marine Science, Fort Bragg, California

The body of this 26' male Gulf of Alaska mammal-eating Biggs orca washed up just south of Fort Bragg, California in 2015.  He was lying on his left side so his photo identity match could not be confirmed.  His body was in good condition and the remains of six harbour seals were found in his stomach at the time of his death.  The probable cause of his death was heart failure.  He was found entangled in crab-pot line.  

This stunning male is the largest orca skeleton on display in the world.  The articulation was completed with custom internal steel armature and no replicated cartilage to accentuate the perfect form of each individual bone in the skeleton.  He has been floor-mounted in a dynamic and life-breathing posture.  Represented as the formidable hunter he was, he dives downward, twisting and rolling to capture his exhausted prey between  powerful jaws.