Humpback whales are trying to fight off the pod of killer whales that have been targeting grey whales California coasts.

In Monterey Bay, a pod of killer whales have killed seven gray whales over the last 12 days as they were migrating through the Bay on their way from Mexico to Alaska.

And while the back-to-back killings have drawn attention, the humpback whales coming to the rescue have been the most surprising.

Humpback whales have swarmed the coast of Monterey Bay, California, to fight off orcas that are preying and feeding on gray whales and seals (Humpback whale, far left, fights off three killer whales on Monday, May 1)

The killer whales have killed seven gray whales over the last 12 days (seen here attempting to kill a gray whale calf on Sunday, April 30)

Nancy Black, a marine biologist with Monterey Bay Whale Watch, explained that the humpback whales have come to Monterey Bay a few weeks earlier than usual this year.

She estimates that in the last two weeks, 60 to 70 humpbacks have arrived in the bay to witness the orcas' hunting season.

'Humpbacks like to interfere with the killer whales for some strange reason,' Black told SFGATE.

'They seem to want to protect the prey.'

Drone video captured the humpback whales on Monday, May 1, interfering with the killer whale feeding frenzy that has taken place over the last several days in Monterey Bay.

Over the course of the past two weeks, humpback whales have repeatedly charged over to the pod and tried to deter the killer whales from hunting or feeding.

Black said she has seen the humpbacks, in groups of two or three, approach and trumpet loudly to disperse the orcas.

On Monday, a pair of humpbacks attempted to use their flukes to push a pod of killer whales away from a feeding site.

'Every time the killer whales have been feeding, the humpbacks have been charging in,' said Black.

'Every single time.'

Marine biologists with Monterey Bay Whale Watch say that between 60 and 70 humpbacks have appeared in the area a few weeks earlier than normal to disperse the killer whales (Humpback whale, far right, attempts to deter three killer whales, left, from hunting other fish on Monday, May 1)

The marine biologists have revealed that every single time the killer whales appear to be hunting, the humpback whales charge to fight them off (Killer whales attack gray whales on Sunday, April 30)

Killer whales and humpback whales regularly approach each other, but for entirely different reasons.

In a study published in Marine Mammal Science in July 2016, researchers found that killer whales appear to be looking for calves to attack.

But when humpbacks approach, the killer whales are almost always attacking or feeding on prey at the time.

Researchers aren't sure why humpbacks interfere with killer whales' hunting habits.

Black thinks the humpbacks may be fighting back against the orcas out of instinct, even though in these cases they're not the ones being hunted - a form of altruism.

And while she hasn't seen the humpbacks successfully prevent a killer whale attack in Monterey Bay, a mother gray whale was able to save her calf from being killed on Sunday.

Monterey Bay Whale Watch caught the encounter on drone video on Sunday, April 30.

Humpbacks often interfere with killer whales' hunting habits, with one study revealing that 84 percent of the time the whales approach them, the orcas are hunting or feeding on prey - but researchers don't know why this is the case

'The mother took her calf, held her breath and made a run for the beach,' Black said.

The mother held her breath for seven minutes and the pair escaped the pod of predators.

'This has never happened in my 30 years,' Black said.

'Just to witness that out in nature when you usually see that kind of thing on television is really spectacular.'