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On one of the Planet Earth's (IIRC) they showed a seal on a floating slab of ice and the orcas would slap their tails and bump the ice to get the seal to slide

On one of the Planet Earth's (IIRC) they showed a seal on a floating slab of ice and the orcas would slap their tails and bump the ice to get the seal to slide off, the seal wore itself out and they eventually drug it into the depths. They're uncanny smart hunters. I wonder if it was curious about you being food and trying a tactic like that? Or just curious in general and indifferent to whether you survived that curiosity? edit: the below comment linked a video which then linked to a producer explaining the exact moment I was referring to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1VEwsI4SlY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1VEwsI4SlY

nikofeyn 8y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBRu3LGceAg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBRu3LGceAg they do it to humans too. they are highly intelligent, so the options are vast. so similar to humans, they could be training, teaching, playing, angry, curious, etc.
- libraryatnight 8y ago
  Thanks for that, they're just incredible!
  - nikofeyn 8y ago
    and just to elaborate on that specific technique. they will often have an orca coordinate it, likely an older female. that orca spyhops to see the target prey and then signals to the other orcas when to charge the block of ice in formation. they swim fast toward the ice and then dive under right before the ice to send a wave of water over the ice. many times they will intentionally let the seal back onto the ice to be able to practice the maneuver some more. they are also wary of seal bites and prefer to tire prey out. i have even seen one instance where they don't even eat the seal in the end, which indicates they were solely teaching and/or training. there are other techniques they use which also require high levels of communication. one of which is where they leave one orca behind who stays silent while the rest of the pod leaves the area and starts vocalizing again. (when hunting mammals, orcas stop vocalizing since mammals have good hearing and intelligence.) this relaxes the prey and makes an easy catch for the orca who stayed silently behind. once the prey is caught, the other orcas join back, and the food is shared. i am personally of the opinion that orcas are the second most intelligent species behind humans and ahead of all other primates. there are examples of orcas interacting with dolphins, even using dolphin vocalizations. there are also examples of orcas working with humans to catch whales, where it almost seems the orcas trained the humans and not the other way around.

nikofeyn 8y ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBRu3LGceAg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBRu3LGceAg they do it to humans too. they are highly intelligent, so the options are vast. so similar to humans, they could be training, teaching, playing, angry, curious, etc.

libraryatnight 8y ago
Thanks for that, they're just incredible!
- nikofeyn 8y ago
  and just to elaborate on that specific technique. they will often have an orca coordinate it, likely an older female. that orca spyhops to see the target prey and then signals to the other orcas when to charge the block of ice in formation. they swim fast toward the ice and then dive under right before the ice to send a wave of water over the ice. many times they will intentionally let the seal back onto the ice to be able to practice the maneuver some more. they are also wary of seal bites and prefer to tire prey out. i have even seen one instance where they don't even eat the seal in the end, which indicates they were solely teaching and/or training. there are other techniques they use which also require high levels of communication. one of which is where they leave one orca behind who stays silent while the rest of the pod leaves the area and starts vocalizing again. (when hunting mammals, orcas stop vocalizing since mammals have good hearing and intelligence.) this relaxes the prey and makes an easy catch for the orca who stayed silently behind. once the prey is caught, the other orcas join back, and the food is shared. i am personally of the opinion that orcas are the second most intelligent species behind humans and ahead of all other primates. there are examples of orcas interacting with dolphins, even using dolphin vocalizations. there are also examples of orcas working with humans to catch whales, where it almost seems the orcas trained the humans and not the other way around.