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Orcas have the advantage of a mammalian brain. It's pretty crazy to think that an animal similar to a pig returned to the ocean and now dominates the environmen
by kuprel 7y ago
Orcas have the advantage of a mammalian brain. It's pretty crazy to think that an animal similar to a pig returned to the ocean and now dominates the environment
- tyingq 7y agoAlso, they weigh ~6 tons vs a great white at around 2.3 tons. And 4 inch teeth vs 2 inch teeth. And hunt in packs versus loners. Lastly, much faster...30mph vs 15mph. https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/01/63/62/17251480/15/rawImage.jpg https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/01/63/62/17251480/15/rawImage....
- pcurve 7y agothe speed difference is frightening. Almost seems unfair. No wonder sharks steer clear. If they're spotted, they're doomed.
- masklinn 7y ago> a great white at around 2.3 tons Did you confuse thousands of kgs and lbs? Because 2.3 tons is the unverified all-time record (with verified being 1.9), while 6t is a large orca and the all-time records was apparently around 10t.
- tyingq 7y agoAh, yes, though that just reinforces the point. Thanks.
- MrFoof 7y agoIt really reinforces why they're commonly referred to as, "killer whales". That's just not a fight nearly anything on earth wants to get into.
- dfc 7y agoThe name comes from the fact that Orcas kill other whales. Killing sharks does nothing to reinforce this.
- harryf 7y agoAn adult Orca alone already significantly outclasses a Great White. A large adult Great White might weigh up to 1,110 kg (2,450 lb) while a large adult Orca can weigh up to 5,380 kg (11,860 lb). Orcas can reach speeds of over 48 km's per hour, while a Great White Shark manage up to 24 km per hour. The Orca's spine and tail also allow it to pull manoeuvres (sudden dive, climb) that a shark can't respond to. And that's before you even consider the Orca's brain... And it seems Orca's may have figured out a sharks big weakness... tonic immobility - https://www.sharktrust.org/tonic-immobility https://www.sharktrust.org/tonic-immobility
- rantwasp 7y agokiller moves... wait
- puranjay 7y agoThe brain facilitates social grouping and pack hunting. The latter is just about the most effective predatory strategy in nature.
- joejerryronnie 7y agoOrca’s also develop “specialization” with different pods developing specific hunting techniques based on the primary type of prey in their locale.
- stjohnswarts 7y agoEverything I've read says while they have the instincts of a hunter they learn a lot from their social group and progenitors.
- mkagenius 7y agoI would not be surprised if they have their own hackernews and are now talking about how great humans brain is.
- cushychicken 7y agoThe ancestral precursor to modern orcas is a pig? Really? Fascinating. What creature does the fossil record point to as the orca ancestor? (Legitimately curious. Rereading before posting makes me realize that I sound like an anti-evolution troll XD )
- detaro 7y agoNot directly a pig, but a land-living mammal where a different evolutionary branch developed into pigs (and cows, and a bunch more) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Even-toed_ungulate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Even-toed_ungulate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_cetaceans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_cetaceans
- fmela 7y agoSee also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakicetus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakicetus
- mixmastamyk 7y agoThe hippo is a another close relative of the first water-loving mammals.
- joejerryronnie 7y agoThe docile hippo - one of the most dangerous animals in the world
- stjohnswarts 7y agoDon't they kill more people annually than any other mammal?
- blotter_paper 7y agoI'd bet good money that humans have them beat.
- ralfd 7y agoUff. It is not even a contest: Orcas have the second biggest brains (after Sperm Whales) with a weight of 6-7 kg. White Sharks have a brain of 35 grams. 200 times less! https://www.quora.com/What-is-a-very-primitive-brain-like-in-non-human-animals https://www.quora.com/What-is-a-very-primitive-brain-like-in... I thought air (23%) also has more oxygen than water (1%), so Orcas have a big advantage in endurance here, but googling it water is much more dense than air and has more oxygen counted as mass. My guess is, that oxygen is more accessible with breathing air in lungs than with having gills?
- samatman 7y agoYou guess correctly. Oxygen "wants to" dissolve in oxygen-depleted water, especially ionic/salty water, specifically blood. It's much less eager to permeate from one liquid into another liquid of comparable salinity. Sharks have an additional disadvantage over bony fishes, in that they must be moving for their gills to work at all.
- Pfhreak 7y ago> Sharks have an additional disadvantage over bony fishes, in that they must be moving for their gills to work at all. The name for this is -"obligate ram ventilators" which is a fantastic phrase.
- xxxcbbbcbb 7y agoAre you implying that brain weight has a direct relationship with intelligence? So if someones brain is heavier that means they are more intelligent right?
- dreamcompiler 7y agoNo. Large differences in brain weight (e.g. factors of 10 or more) can sometimes matter. But weight is just a poor proxy for more important factors: Number of neurons, number of neuronal interconnections, and specialization of brain areas. Within a species, brain weight differences are unimportant. Even between species it's often unimportant. Blue whale brains are 4x as heavy as human brains but the whales have fewer neurons, and most of those neurons are dedicated to audio processing. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/news-blog/are-whales-smarter-than-we-are/ https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/news-blog/are-whales-sm...
- njharman 7y agoNot suprised. Discounting humans, wild pigs dominate in large parts of Texas. Pigs are smart and ruthless, like or as.
- mobilemidget 7y agoIn my opinion the 'pakicetus' looked more rat/possum like than pig.
- showyrfangs 7y ago> Reconstructions of pakicetids that followed the discovery of composite skeletons often depicted them with fur; however, given their relatively close relationships with hippos, they may have had sparse body hair. Maybe a pig-like-opossum? https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Pakicetus https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Pakicetus
- Intermernet 7y agoIf you don't know the story already, you may be interested in this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whales_of_Eden,_New_South_Wales https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whales_of_Eden,_New_S...