Watching from nearby, an elephant seal bull may be master of the beach, but in the ocean, he's just another meal. Young orcas rarely attack adult males. But, even with his four ton girth, he'd rather not be the exception. The orcas have their sights set on smaller prey. Tens of thousands of elephant seal pups are about to experience a major life change. One has had it easy so far, tripling his weight, exploding from 40 to 120 kilograms. He's now so fat; he'd float like a cork if he had to swim. Like a sea lion, he's not a natural born swimmer. He'll have to learn this skill on his own. His mother is about to leave for good. She's had to fast for four weeks. Losing almost 8 kilograms a day, she's dropped from 680 to less than 450. Faced with a demanding mate, a youngster that's sucking her dry and nearing starvation, the female heads off to feed. Elephant seals travel and hunt alone. She and her pup may never see each other again. Most make a quick dash for open water. But she has to be careful; the orcas are constantly on the look out for any opportunity. Left on his own, her pup will have to face the ocean's greatest predator by himself. ......

Without their mothers, elephant seal pups band together and form creches. They wrestle and play fight, tiny versions of their mothers and fathers. Over the next six weeks, their baby fat turns to insulating blubber and muscle. At low tide, a pup wades into a pool and practices swimming. But he's constantly being shadowed. Maga never sleeps. An orca's brain is divided into two hemispheres. To rest, Maga switches one hemisphere off while the other stays active. When the tide comes in, she'll be ready. As the lagoon's tidal basin fills, Maga's group moves into position. Pups idle close to the water's edge. Maga slowly creeps toward the distinctive sound of seal in surf. She thinks twice about tackling a full grown bull. She passes on a juvenile male, as well. At 120 kilograms, a pup's no lightweight, either. But Maga's stomach follows the path of least resistance. A few small centimeters separate life from death. Maga circles, searching for another opening. She doesn't need much, a tail dipped into the surf is enough. Captured on film for the first time, an orca snatches a young elephant seal from Peninsula Valdes. Practicing on an empty beach is one thing; now the young need to learn how to attack a real, live animal. The juvenile hunters trail close behind Maga as she approaches the beach. ......

Maga drags the 122 kilogram pup back into the surf to share with her group. Every day, she catches up to three pups. With each attack, the young killer whales grow more familiar with the skills they need to master. Before the elephant seals leave the beaches, Maga reinforces another key lesson. She releases an elephant seal pup. With sea lions, the young learned how to handle prey. Here, they learn how to work as a team. They take turns heading it off, grabbing it and letting it go. These are necessary skills for when they return to open water. In the last lesson of the season, the young hunt as a group. For these killer whales, cooperation is crucial for survival. In just days, the elephant seals will head out to sea. And the orcas will have to move on. But they've taken an important step, teaching the next generation skills that will help to feed the group. Next year, when they return, the roles will start to shift. And the students could begin to provide for their teachers. In time, they'll bring up a new generation, passing along everything they've learned in the killing school.