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Google says that there are about a billion sharks in the world but only 50k orcas. Meanwhile there are only about 10 humans killed by sharks a year. So zero rec
by havblue 4y ago
Google says that there are about a billion sharks in the world but only 50k orcas. Meanwhile there are only about 10 humans killed by sharks a year. So zero recorded humans killed by orcas isn't that surprising. I wouldn't personally volunteer to swim with them.
Edit: granted, I didn't mention that it's typically great white, tiger and bulls that are life threatening among sharks. So it isn't really a billion versus 50k. Regardless, there aren't really that many fatalities by sharks per year.
- jiggywiggy 4y agoLatest estimation is that that are only 3500 great whites with more then 300+ recorded attacks, excluding other types of sharks. Next to that Orcas frequently interact with humans, more than sharks. For instance as this article describes, they are quite active in the tiny mediterranean sea. Which some human even swim across (60 attempts per year). Also they live close to the surface, they need to breath every 5-15 minutes. And just as sharks they enjoy Sea Lions, which sharks often confuse with humans.
- failTide 4y ago3500 sounds low IMO when you look at some of the drone videos in SoCal of the people tracking these (mostly juveniles in SoCal). Also they don't often confuse Sea Lions for humans, but it's still a good explanation for the few attacks that do occur. It's actually impressive how good they are at recognizing their prey.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- thaumasiotes 4y ago> Google says that there are about a billion sharks in the world but only 50k orcas. Meanwhile there are only about 10 humans killed by sharks a year. So zero recorded humans killed by orcas isn't that surprising. I wouldn't personally volunteer to swim with them. Sharks are a group of taxonomical orders. Orcas are a species. You wouldn't want to swim with them anyway, for the same reason you wouldn't want to run with a herd of stampeding cows.
- stupendousyappi 4y agoOrcas are almost certainly several different species as well, but they remain officially classified as one until scientists agree on how to divide them up.
- thaumasiotes 4y agoI thought orcas were traditionally divided into three types. There is no standard for what is or isn't a "species". But it doesn't matter at all; the difference between the taxonomic level of "sharks" and the taxonomic level of "orcas" is unimaginably large regardless of what you want to call the levels.
- oefnak 4y agoI thought the standard was that they had to produce fertile offspring.
- thaumasiotes 4y agoNot at all. Without even mentioning plants and bacteria, wolves are canis lupus and dogs are canis familiaris. But interfertility is often a bigger problem between two types of dog than it is between a dog and a wolf.
- luma 4y agoInterestingly, orcas have a particular interest in great white sharks. Apparently they enjoy shark livers, and will hunt and kill great whites just to eat the liver and leave the rest of the carcass: https://www.iflscience.com/watch-a-great-white-shark-getting-its-liver-sucked-out-by-orcas-64685 https://www.iflscience.com/watch-a-great-white-shark-getting... Orcas are savage, incredibly strong, smart, and capable pack hunters. Absolute apex predator of the sea and sharks don't stand a chance.
- ncmncm 4y agoShark livers are close to the size of the whole shark, and are full of fat, which the sharks rely on for flotation because they have no swim bladder like bony fish have. To be clear, shark livers are so big because they have an extra job ours don't.