5 ms·

While I thought the same thing, some whales hid from hunters in Iceland[1]. [1]- https://www.idausa.org/campaign/cetacean-advocacy/latest-news/hiding-whales-ev

While I thought the same thing, some whales hid from hunters in Iceland[1]. [1]- https://www.idausa.org/campaign/cetacean-advocacy/latest-news/hiding-whales-evade-hunters-in-iceland/ https://www.idausa.org/campaign/cetacean-advocacy/latest-new...

xwdv 6y ago
Does word of killer humans travel within the whale community somehow?
- OneLeggedCat 6y ago
  Whales have a large vocabulary, large brains, social structures, and extremely old ages. Many simpler animals communicate dangers, some even have particular words for humans. It's entirely reasonable that whales might have learned at some point that whaling ships were dangerous, maybe even assuming that all ships are dangerous, and then communicate that to other whales, even for a hundred years, which is less than the lifetime of some whales.
  - xwdv 6y ago
    So this is why some whales will jump out of water and fall backwards on to kayakers, killing them with their gross tonnage.
    - randoramax 6y ago
      Never heard of whale killing a kayaker with a jump. Source?
      - xwdv 6y ago
        https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2019/02/06/kayaker-survives-being-crushed-by-humpback-whale/amp/ https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2019/02/06/kayaker-s...
      - plumeria 6y ago
        The linked article says: "Whales are thought to come out of the water to communicate with others, and colliding with boats and kayaks is an accidental consequence of this".
- bigbubba 6y ago
  Something to consider; why don't orcas ever bite humans in the wild? The standard answer is we're too bony and taste bad. Maybe that's the reason, but it doesn't sit right with me. Sure we might be bony compared to seals, but how do orcas know we taste bad if they won't even take a nibble? Orcas seem to have zero curiosity for how we taste. Contrast this with sharks, which are known for taking a taste once in a while. Are sharks, glorified fish, really more curious than these hyper intelligent mammals? Maybe, but that seems suspect to me. Here is what I believe; whales are capable of passing knowledge down through their generations, just like us. The power of their language is not yet fully understood, but I think it reasonable to assume they are able to express at least simple ideas like "Can I eat this?", "Do not eat that!" and "Those are dangerous to us." A language which can convey those ideas may be sufficient for whales to have memory of industrial scale whaling. I believe Orcas likely remember that humans are very good at killing whales, and subsequently know not to fuck with us. (They may also be able to reason this out by observing our capabilities today, even if they have forgotten what we once did.)
  - pasabagi 6y ago
    Eh - most predators don't eat new and weird looking stuff. The reason is, if you can't digest something and get sick, you can't hunt, and so you'll probably die. I think sharks are the weird one here - one factor probably being they're pretty dumb, and the other being they have a pretty tough digestive tract. They are also cold blooded so it takes longer for a shark to starve.
    - bigbubba 6y ago
      Aren't pretty much all warm blooded large land predators known to eat humans on occasion? Bears, tigers, wolves, etc. Perhaps that happens because the opportunity arises more often.
      - pasabagi 6y ago
        Actually I think the only large warm blooded predator that hunts humans actively is a polar bear. Maybe also leopards? Could be wrong. I think other large mammals typically do it when they're old, infirm, stressed, or otherwise unable to hunt normally.

xwdv 6y ago

Does word of killer humans travel within the whale community somehow?

OneLeggedCat 6y ago
Whales have a large vocabulary, large brains, social structures, and extremely old ages. Many simpler animals communicate dangers, some even have particular words for humans. It's entirely reasonable that whales might have learned at some point that whaling ships were dangerous, maybe even assuming that all ships are dangerous, and then communicate that to other whales, even for a hundred years, which is less than the lifetime of some whales.
- xwdv 6y ago
  So this is why some whales will jump out of water and fall backwards on to kayakers, killing them with their gross tonnage.
  - randoramax 6y ago
    Never heard of whale killing a kayaker with a jump. Source?
    - xwdv 6y ago
      https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2019/02/06/kayaker-survives-being-crushed-by-humpback-whale/amp/ https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2019/02/06/kayaker-s...
    - plumeria 6y ago
      The linked article says: "Whales are thought to come out of the water to communicate with others, and colliding with boats and kayaks is an accidental consequence of this".
bigbubba 6y ago
Something to consider; why don't orcas ever bite humans in the wild? The standard answer is we're too bony and taste bad. Maybe that's the reason, but it doesn't sit right with me. Sure we might be bony compared to seals, but how do orcas know we taste bad if they won't even take a nibble? Orcas seem to have zero curiosity for how we taste. Contrast this with sharks, which are known for taking a taste once in a while. Are sharks, glorified fish, really more curious than these hyper intelligent mammals? Maybe, but that seems suspect to me. Here is what I believe; whales are capable of passing knowledge down through their generations, just like us. The power of their language is not yet fully understood, but I think it reasonable to assume they are able to express at least simple ideas like "Can I eat this?", "Do not eat that!" and "Those are dangerous to us." A language which can convey those ideas may be sufficient for whales to have memory of industrial scale whaling. I believe Orcas likely remember that humans are very good at killing whales, and subsequently know not to fuck with us. (They may also be able to reason this out by observing our capabilities today, even if they have forgotten what we once did.)
- pasabagi 6y ago
  Eh - most predators don't eat new and weird looking stuff. The reason is, if you can't digest something and get sick, you can't hunt, and so you'll probably die. I think sharks are the weird one here - one factor probably being they're pretty dumb, and the other being they have a pretty tough digestive tract. They are also cold blooded so it takes longer for a shark to starve.
  - bigbubba 6y ago
    Aren't pretty much all warm blooded large land predators known to eat humans on occasion? Bears, tigers, wolves, etc. Perhaps that happens because the opportunity arises more often.
    - pasabagi 6y ago
      Actually I think the only large warm blooded predator that hunts humans actively is a polar bear. Maybe also leopards? Could be wrong. I think other large mammals typically do it when they're old, infirm, stressed, or otherwise unable to hunt normally.