4 ms·

Why didn't the whales just dive?? Blows my mind a rowboat of sailors could even catch up.

gerdesj 6y ago
It seems daft but walk into a field of cows some time. There is a daft meme that whales are cool and intelligent (lol etc) and so on. They are both cool and demonstrably intelligent and yet they insist on doing the same thing that they have done for millenia. There is no way that evolution can kick in for a race that lives for so long, for such a destructive force that was deployed so quickly (us).
- valarauko 6y ago
  Cows is an unfair comparison - cattle have been deliberately domesticated over millennia, selectively breeding for docility and familiarity with humans. Cow herds you might encounter in a field are also artificial constructs, removing the aggressive males that might have otherwise defended their family. Walking into a field of wild bison/Nilgai/Water Buffalo and aggressive behavior will have you hanging from a pair of horns before very long. Even feral dogs are fairly friendly and tend to ignore non-threatening humans in their territory - but you wouldn't want to do the same with wolves.
CannisterFlux 6y ago
The whales would dive, but whales have to breathe air so come back up again. My knowledge of this is based on Moby Dick, so take it with the pinch of salt necessary. It describes the experienced sailors being able to estimate how long the whale would be under water for, and look-outs on the larger ship could see where the whale broke the surface and head there to attack it in the smaller boats. Then they'd spear the whale with a long rope attached to the spear and the whale would dive under again with the spear stuck in it. As it dived, the pressure of the water would cause it more pain in the wound and it would have to resurface. Repeat, with a grisly finale. But yeah, it does seem pretty insane (and cruel) that anyone would attempt this.

It seems daft but walk into a field of cows some time. There is a daft meme that whales are cool and intelligent (lol etc) and so on. They are both cool and demonstrably intelligent and yet they insist on doing the same thing that they have done for millenia. There is no way that evolution can kick in for a race that lives for so long, for such a destructive force that was deployed so quickly (us).

valarauko 6y ago
Cows is an unfair comparison - cattle have been deliberately domesticated over millennia, selectively breeding for docility and familiarity with humans. Cow herds you might encounter in a field are also artificial constructs, removing the aggressive males that might have otherwise defended their family. Walking into a field of wild bison/Nilgai/Water Buffalo and aggressive behavior will have you hanging from a pair of horns before very long. Even feral dogs are fairly friendly and tend to ignore non-threatening humans in their territory - but you wouldn't want to do the same with wolves.

CannisterFlux 6y ago

The whales would dive, but whales have to breathe air so come back up again. My knowledge of this is based on Moby Dick, so take it with the pinch of salt necessary. It describes the experienced sailors being able to estimate how long the whale would be under water for, and look-outs on the larger ship could see where the whale broke the surface and head there to attack it in the smaller boats. Then they'd spear the whale with a long rope attached to the spear and the whale would dive under again with the spear stuck in it. As it dived, the pressure of the water would cause it more pain in the wound and it would have to resurface. Repeat, with a grisly finale. But yeah, it does seem pretty insane (and cruel) that anyone would attempt this.