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Odd phrasing that, "have learned". "Some wasps have learned to immobilise spiders and deposit their eggs inside of them." I think many would get the wrong ide
by ellyagg 9y ago
Odd phrasing that, "have learned".
"Some wasps have learned to immobilise spiders and deposit their eggs inside of them."
I think many would get the wrong idea if they didn't click through and read carefully and skeptically. There's no evidence in the article that Orcas learned this shark vulnerability with any more sophistication or recency than the wasps did the spiders.
- gnud 9y agoWell, we know that Orcas teach their young to hunt using waves, and by beaching themselves [0]. So it's not a stretch to assume that this is acquired knowledge, and not instinctual. [0]: http://www.nature.com/news/2007/071214/full/news.2007.380.html http://www.nature.com/news/2007/071214/full/news.2007.380.ht...
- sliverstorm 9y agoWe also occasionally observe a particular orca pod hunting an unusual prey other pods don't hunt, using some novel technique we've never seen in orcas before. I can't think of a particular example offhand, but that sort of thing sure looks like learned tribal knowledge.
- roberttod 9y agoMy thoughts exactly. On the evolutionary timescale we have been studying animals for a miniscule amount of time. Unless some "new behaviour" is caused by human influence, I am very sceptical of claims like this. "Orcas have learned to x" == "Humans have learned that Orcas do x". Still a really interesting read though.
- mannykannot 9y agoThere is a big difference between an individual learning from experience, and a species 'learning' through the process of evolution - the process in each case is very different. You can arguably say that they are both forms of learning, but that does not mean that they are the same.
- PhasmaFelis 9y agoI'm not so sure of that. The smarter whales in general are quite capable of experimenting, learning useful behaviors, and teaching them to their friends and children. It's not as uncommon as you might think. There's crows that have learned to crack walnuts by shoving them under car wheels at stop lights, and they actually watch the lights, not just the cars, to tell when it's safe to walk in the street. It's not genetic; newly-introduced crows pick up the behavior from watching the existing flock.
- amigoingtodie 9y agoI have been watching quite a few crow documentaries and talks on Netflix and YouTube. Also, the articles on incentivizing crows to exchange coins or cigarette butts for food is quite interesting.
- ForHackernews 9y agoThe article said that the orcas' diets and hunting behaviours vary by geography and population. Cetaceans are known to be extremely intelligent and able to learn. I'm not sure it's obvious whether this is a learned, cultural behaviour taught to offspring, or an instinctual, evolved behaviour.
- phil248 9y agoThere are specific populations of dolphins that exhibit complex hunting behaviors that have to be learned and are exclusive to those in the community that have a chance to learn the skill.
- ubernostrum 9y agoUsually, "learn" implies that a behavior is acquired through non-genetic means. And orcas have indeed been observed transmitting behaviors through non-genetic means.