6 ms·

Great story, but Orca's learned about tonic immobility years ago. This isn't really new news. FWIW, Orca pods in and around New Zealand have been filmed doing

by SEJeff 9y ago

Great story, but Orca's learned about tonic immobility years ago. This isn't really new news. FWIW, Orca pods in and around New Zealand have been filmed doing the exact same thing with sting rays. When flipped upside down, rays go into tonic immobility. Here's a video from this in 2014: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqimOYOQjJ8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqimOYOQjJ8 And a guy with way bigger balls than me demonstrating it on a shark underwater: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHr_MshhXuk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHr_MshhXuk

ComputerGuru 9y ago
It’s mentioned in the article in passing, actually. I believe the only news here is that they have been observed doing this to Great Whites for the first time (whom were previously considered apex predators).
- mudita 9y ago
  https://www.sharktrust.org/en/tonic_immobility https://www.sharktrust.org/en/tonic_immobility According to this site, this has been observed previously: "There is evidence that suggests orcas may use tonic immobility to prey on sharks. In 1997, in the waters around the Farallon Islands, a female Orca was observed holding a White Shark upside down for 15 minutes, causing it to suffocate. Whether intentional or not, the Orca likely caused the shark to enter tonic immobility."
  - cortesoft 9y ago
    The 1997 incident was mentioned in the article as well.
- cortesoft 9y ago
  The article mentions this being observed in 1997, too.
ellyagg 9y ago
You mean we've known about Orcas exploiting tonic immobility for years, right? I can't think of any analytical technique that would allow us to know when Orcas started exhibiting this behavior. As our methods and wealth have allowed us to observe more behavior, we have recorded more behavior. Humans have been observing Orcas for a tiny sliver of their existence. Orcas discovering a major new behavior just when we happen to have the means of observing them seems breathtakingly unlikely.
- SEJeff 9y ago
  I meant it is a great article, but isn't really "news". I became an amateur Orca enthusiast maybe 4-5 years ago after seeing "LA Pod" in Marina Del Rey / Playa Vista outside of Los Angeles. Youtube has hours and hours of footage of how each pod hunts differently. The most interesting ones actually beach themselves on purpose to snag a meal right off the shore before carefully pushing themselves back into the water.
  - PhasmaFelis 9y ago
    Yeah, I've seen video of an orca lunging onto a beach after some penguins, missing, then just sitting there sunning itself for a minute before humping back into the water like a seal. Really didn't expect that from a whale.
    - SEJeff 9y ago
      The matriarch whistles and the pod causes waves to knock seals off of the ice. The hungriest of the pod waits on the other side and grabs them. Then then share the food with each other. This level of coordination is pretty much unheard of in nature. Even dogs aren't this intelligent. Their level of intelligence is somewhat terrifying if you think about it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1VEwsI4SlY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1VEwsI4SlY And better (but long): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRWl77tK7Bg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRWl77tK7Bg
      - DoubleCribble 9y ago
nikofeyn 9y ago
there is a great documentary called the woman who swims with killer whales which documents dr. ingrid visser's research and rescue efforts of the new zealand orca population. her research has done a lot to showcase that the orcas are in danger, particularly of toxins. she shows in the documentary how she recovers discarded rays and does toxicity reports on the rays to theorize what toxicity levels the orcas have, since they are their primary, if only, source of food. (the "resident", fish-eating orcas are extremely picky.) the woman who swims with killer whales: https://vimeo.com/45809457 https://vimeo.com/45809457

by SEJeff 9y ago

ComputerGuru 9y ago

It’s mentioned in the article in passing, actually. I believe the only news here is that they have been observed doing this to Great Whites for the first time (whom were previously considered apex predators).

mudita 9y ago
https://www.sharktrust.org/en/tonic_immobility https://www.sharktrust.org/en/tonic_immobility According to this site, this has been observed previously: "There is evidence that suggests orcas may use tonic immobility to prey on sharks. In 1997, in the waters around the Farallon Islands, a female Orca was observed holding a White Shark upside down for 15 minutes, causing it to suffocate. Whether intentional or not, the Orca likely caused the shark to enter tonic immobility."
- cortesoft 9y ago
  The 1997 incident was mentioned in the article as well.
cortesoft 9y ago
The article mentions this being observed in 1997, too.

ellyagg 9y ago

You mean we've known about Orcas exploiting tonic immobility for years, right? I can't think of any analytical technique that would allow us to know when Orcas started exhibiting this behavior. As our methods and wealth have allowed us to observe more behavior, we have recorded more behavior. Humans have been observing Orcas for a tiny sliver of their existence. Orcas discovering a major new behavior just when we happen to have the means of observing them seems breathtakingly unlikely.

SEJeff 9y ago
I meant it is a great article, but isn't really "news". I became an amateur Orca enthusiast maybe 4-5 years ago after seeing "LA Pod" in Marina Del Rey / Playa Vista outside of Los Angeles. Youtube has hours and hours of footage of how each pod hunts differently. The most interesting ones actually beach themselves on purpose to snag a meal right off the shore before carefully pushing themselves back into the water.
- PhasmaFelis 9y ago
  Yeah, I've seen video of an orca lunging onto a beach after some penguins, missing, then just sitting there sunning itself for a minute before humping back into the water like a seal. Really didn't expect that from a whale.
  - SEJeff 9y ago
    The matriarch whistles and the pod causes waves to knock seals off of the ice. The hungriest of the pod waits on the other side and grabs them. Then then share the food with each other. This level of coordination is pretty much unheard of in nature. Even dogs aren't this intelligent. Their level of intelligence is somewhat terrifying if you think about it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1VEwsI4SlY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1VEwsI4SlY And better (but long): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRWl77tK7Bg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRWl77tK7Bg
    - DoubleCribble 9y ago

nikofeyn 9y ago

there is a great documentary called the woman who swims with killer whales which documents dr. ingrid visser's research and rescue efforts of the new zealand orca population. her research has done a lot to showcase that the orcas are in danger, particularly of toxins. she shows in the documentary how she recovers discarded rays and does toxicity reports on the rays to theorize what toxicity levels the orcas have, since they are their primary, if only, source of food. (the "resident", fish-eating orcas are extremely picky.) the woman who swims with killer whales: https://vimeo.com/45809457 https://vimeo.com/45809457