Perhaps the killer whales were resting or they may have had their fill, but the final fate of the severely injured blue whale was not known. The conical and interlocking teeth of killer whales are adapted for ripping and tearing but not for chewing. The number of teeth varies among individuals. Killer whales swallow their food in chunks if need be, but their throats are large enough to swallow small seals and walruses whole. Prey, such as these sea lions, may not be safe from killer whales even on land.
Some killer whales specialize in sliding out onto sand bars or ice floes to pursue prey.
They may also hit ice floes from below to knock prey into the water. Perhaps the smell of fresh sea lion blood drew the shark to the area, but once one of the killer whales sighted the great white it immediately charged the shark and contacted it under water. This is certainly no indication of what may happen every time killer whales face great whites, but it does demonstrate the variety of a killer whale's diet. A pod of 30 to 40 killer whales was seen following a fleet of trawler ships in the northeastern area of the Shetland Islands in the United Kingdom. Research has shown that resident whales have a wider sound repertoire than transient whales, which may be partially related to their hunting habits.