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Orcas found to kill blue whales
- entropicgravity 5y agoOrcas kill anything they can get their teeth on, except humans. There is honor among apex predators.
- nighthawk454 5y agohttps://outline.com/kv6FYx https://outline.com/kv6FYx https://archive.is/fjZNi https://archive.is/fjZNi
- 8ytecoder 5y agoMar 2021: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxTsoD86Ego https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxTsoD86Ego I’m confused a bit
- iscrewyou 5y agoIt’s discussed in the article: “ In all, scientists describe three blue whale killings, in March and April of 2019 and March of 2021, in a new study published this week in the journal Marine Mammal Science.”
- pleb_nz 5y agoWhat a terrible death that would be.
- s1artibartfast 5y agoKiller whales also often target grey whale calves. they separate them from their mothers and drown them. Scientists suggest they do it for sport and entertainment, as they rarely consume the meat. Trigger warning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsXBeoqVN0c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsXBeoqVN0c
- bmitc 5y agoAs much as I love orcas, it is indeed quite brutal seeing those battles play out between orcas and large whales. Gives you chill bumps and reminds you how tough nature is. However, I've never heard of orcas routinely killing for sport, especially large whales. Is there an article or study you know of? It is not an easy kill for them, and I was under the impression that they do it for certain delicacies. For example, they will kill great white sharks specifically to eat their livers, which is insanely high in calories, and then nothing else of the shark.
- beerandt 5y agoThere's seals, which they seem to kill for a combination of sport and to give the young orcas practice killing. It's pretty hard to watch orcas use their tail to playfully bat dying seals 50' up in the air and not think they're doing it for fun. Even if there's a learning component to the purpose.
- stupendousyappi 5y agoThey may be doing it to stun the animal.
- beerandt 5y agoThey're not. It's very obvious when you see it. And it's usually when they've already pushed the seal to exhaustion and are extending things so the kids can play.
- bmitc 5y agoOrcas will tail slap things to stun or kill them, and some fish-eating orcas do this after corralling a school of fish together into a tight ball or cylinder. Then they swim in fast and slap the edges with their tails, either stunning or killing several fish that they can then just pick out of the floating water. However, the seal punting the commenter was referring to does indeed seem to be for sport, play, training, or all of the above. Here's a video: https://youtu.be/G7WGIH35JBE?t=21 https://youtu.be/G7WGIH35JBE?t=21 For one, it shows the sheer power of an orca. According to the NOAA Fisheries, a harbor seal (what transient orcas typically hunt) weights 24 pounds at birth and then 180-285 pounds as an adult. So, if we assume that seal in the video is an adolescent or an adult, the orca is launching something probably weighing at least 100-200 pounds about 50-100ft into the air. I do find it disturbing, but I have seen some cases where the orcas had played with a seal and then let it live. This discussion of power reminded me of orcas hunting dolphins. The following videos might be harsh if you really like dolphins, but it shows the insane power and speed of an orca. They can move so fast in the water, jump tens of feet out of the water while weighing several tons, and ram things with such force killing them. That's also why I balk at calling them the wolves of the sea. I do not know of a single other predator that has the intelligence plus the insane physicality that they do. I think one would be hard pressed to find a more apex predator. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTirD7pCBVE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTirD7pCBVE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JsBB0BGM4M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JsBB0BGM4M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVbvhtNzFj0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVbvhtNzFj0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQQMrHYlYvI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQQMrHYlYvI
- dgut 5y agoSince I watched Free Willy and later seeing one at close range on the coast of Cuba (Cojimar) I've been so fascinated by orcas, I made them the logo and somewhat end goal of my startup [1]. [1] https://okeano.com https://okeano.com
- blastro 5y agovery cute logo!
- dgut 5y agoThanks!
- zhoujianfu 5y agoThey inspired the look/livery of my new startup too! https://np.com https://np.com (scroll all the way down for the best look)
- a_t48 5y agoNice looking plane. Asia by way of Alaska is at the very least an interesting idea.
- prawn 5y agoGreat site and design! I smiled at the startup idea. I once flew my not-yet-wife to NYC (from Australia) to propose, but went cheap on the tickets. Our route was something like Adelaide - Sydney, I think - Taipei - Anchorage at 3am - NYC. Probably a miracle she said yes.
- dgut 5y agoThat's an incredible site and airplane design. Would be awesome if the last scene in the promo video shows the plane flying & gaining altitude just above orcas speeding and jumping over the water right before it says Fly freely. Prob demands CGI.
- sethammons 5y agoHow do you pronounce that? Love the logo and LOVE the mission. I'll give y'all a whirl
- ZeljkoS 5y agoInterestingly, a few internet sources say English name "killer whale" is miss-translation of Spanish "asesina de ballenas," which literally means "whale killer": https://www.surfertoday.com/environment/what-is-a-killer-whale https://www.surfertoday.com/environment/what-is-a-killer-wha... https://www.reddit.com/r/Awwducational/comments/1tryxl/the_name_killer_whale_stems_from_a_mistranslation/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Awwducational/comments/1tryxl/the_n... Take that with a grain of salt, as I couldn't find a reliable source.
- spaetzleesser 5y agoIt sort of makes sense. As far as I know there are almost no records of orcas going after people.
- helsinkiandrew 5y agoBut they are increasingly attacking boats: https://www.yachtingworld.com/cruising/orca-attacks-rudder-losses-and-damage-as-incidents-escalate-133968/amp https://www.yachtingworld.com/cruising/orca-attacks-rudder-l...
- _ph_ 5y agoI was quite surprised when I saw the first reports of that and find them equally faszinating and terrifying. I am wondering, what started this behavior by the Orcas and whether this is in any way connected to them increasingly killing other whales. It is probably way to naive to assume that they mistake boats for prey as they are highly intelligent animals. They seem to know what fishing boats are and are known to steal fishes from long lines. These attacks seem to primarily target the rudders. Of course this is the one part of the boat they can easily damage, most hulls should be able to withstand the attacks better. Also, attacking the fins is probably very universal, when you are attacking another aquatic animal. I wonder, how much the Orcas can understand the extend to which boats depend on the rudders though.
- helsinkiandrew 5y ago
- frankgrimesjr 5y ago> Twelve orcas swimming down their quarry until it grows tired Looks like humans aren't the only predators who use persistence hunting.
- beerandt 5y agoIt'd be interesting to know if besides mental capacity, is there a physiological advantage required in the water for this to be a successful strategy, as there seems to be on land. That is, comparable to humans (and to a lessor extent canines') ability to regulate body temperature for long durations in the heat.
- saxonww 5y agoDogs and wolves do this too.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- bmitc 5y agoI think it's actually someone demeaning and condescending of humans to consistently describe orcas' hunting techniques as similar to wolves. For one, it's incorrect. Wolves do not show any of the coordination that orcas do. Wolves hunt in packs, but that doesn't mean that they cooperate and coordinate with each other. This video is a good example of the chaos of wolves hunting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wl8ZxAaB2E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wl8ZxAaB2E Instead, orcas hunt much more similarly to humans. They speak to each other, coordinate special roles, teach while they're hunting, and they have highly coordinated and practiced attacks. The way they kill whales is usually quite brutal, because it normally requires tiring out the whales first and then start in with bites. Although orcas are ridiculously powerful (their jaw strength is basically immeasurable compared to land animals), they can still be seriously injured by large whales'. So, orcas essentially exhaust the whales and then ram and nick at them until dealing some final blows or drown the whale. During these hunts, the orcas will switch in and out so as to not tire themselves out. As an aside, there have been instances of people seeing humpbacks intervene orca attacks on both humpbacks and other whale species. I would not be surprised in the least if orcas are as intelligent or more so than humans, if such a thing could be determined. Either way, they are seriously intelligent, and their physical capabilities are second to none. They are awe inspiring animals in every way. And yet, we keep them in prisons.
- beerandt 5y agoOther than arguably the level of communication, every single thing you describe about orcas hunting applies to wolves hunting buffalo. ETA: There's also the under appreciated communication aspect of canines (and orcas) ability to take and obey direction from others. There's lots of research on how despite learning from mimicry, non-human primate intelligence might be relatively capped by this limitation.
- michaelwilson 5y agoAgree. Wolves use a highly coordinated attack, where lead dogs harry the prey and are replaced as they tire. Also, you need more than a simple strategy to take down an animal that can hurt you by kicking you with sharp hooves, poking you with antlers, or calling on 300 of it's close friends to trample you and your little pack to death.
- wisdomdata 5y agoKiller whales hunting baleen whales in concert with humans of the coast of Australia is well documented and probably predates European settlement - search 'the law of the tongue' for more details.
- m_a_g 5y agoOrcas can work together and create waves to hunt seals on ice floes. It is fascinating, and I think proves that Orcas are extremely smart. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwbNRNCxhFg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwbNRNCxhFg
- throwawaysea 5y agoThey also flip seals into the air to carefully avoid injury while hunting - see this article and video: https://www.newsweek.com/scientists-explain-video-orca-punting-seal-80-feet-air-388554 https://www.newsweek.com/scientists-explain-video-orca-punti...
- inglor_cz 5y agoThere are orcas in captivity in San Diego I think? I watched a few videos. They are obviously fairly smart, their interaction with people and each other is thoughtful. At some moments, you really tend to think "there is an almost-human intelligence locked in a very nonhuman body, what could they achieve if they had versatile hands like we do"?
- CHB0403085482 5y agoWhy Orcas are The Most Disrespectful Animals on the Planet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HM3xxXP8Ms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HM3xxXP8Ms
- spaetzleesser 5y agoSeems being an asshole is a sign of intelligence.
- babyshake 5y agoAre Dolphins assholes?
- hungryforcodes 5y agoOrcas are dolphins.
- throwawaysea 5y agoNot sure why you were downvoted - this is explicitly true. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whale https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whale > The killer whale or orca (Orcinus orca) is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member.
- spaetzleesser 5y agoYes, they are with a lot of other species. Another intelligent species that can be real assholes are monkeys.
- beerandt 5y agoYes. If you ever have the chance to see them mating in the wild, about 30 seconds is all it takes to undo any goodwill you might have ever felt for them.
- hungryforcodes 5y ago
- tptacek 5y agoMy favorite Orca fact is that they eat the livers of Great White Sharks. There may be no more metal animal on the planet.
- ajju 5y agoWhy does eating the liver make them particularly metal? I’ve always assumed predators in the wild eat most/all parts of their prey. (Vegetarian here if that explains my ignorance :))
- vba616 5y agoNo, no, the point is they only eat the liver. Which is interesting precisely because many people would assume what you did.
- nix23 5y agoBecause shark meat is saturated with urea, probably that's why.
- beerandt 5y agoNot until you kill it and fluids start moving around. (There are a few things you can do to keep the meat from degrading, like immediately draining the blood and the bladder.) The liver is the target because it's the most calorie dense meat in the shark, if not the entire ocean. At least out of what orcas eat. Plus it's probably delicious.
- dombesz 5y agoIt’s metal, because usually the predator’s livers can be really toxic. Humans only eat the liver of vegetarian animals, and eating the liver of a carnivore animal could result in death.
- vba616 5y agoThey will come out of the water to grab prey on shore, like elephant seals and sea lions. They also coordinate in groups to make waves that wash seals and penguins off ice floes. And they are said to drown whale calves just to eat their tongue.
- garbagecoder 5y ago
- RcouF1uZ4gsC 5y ago> “This is the biggest predation event on this planet: the biggest apex predator taking down the biggest prey,” says study co-author Robert Pitman, a marine ecologist at Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute. “We don’t have dinosaurs anymore, so for me as a whale biologist and a zoologist it’s an amazing thing.” He is actually understating this. Not only is the Blue Whale the largest animal living now, it is the largest animal that has ever lived. It is roughly the size of a Boeing 737 (a 737-700 is longer(110 ft for a 737-700 vs 98 ft for a blue whale), but a blue whale weighs more (155,000lbs max ramp weight for a 737-700 versus 200,000lbs for a blue whale))