Summary of the article by ScienceAlert journalist Carly Cassella:
In the Humboldt Current, off the coast of Chile, an enigmatic pod of orcas has been seen tearing apart unexpected prey.
On multiple occasions, scientists and citizen scientists observed the sleek and efficient predators feasting on dusky dolphins ([*Lagenorhynchus obscurus*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dusky_dolphin)). It’s the first time orcas ([*Orcinus orca*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orca)) have been seen hunting this species of dolphin in the [Humboldt Current](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_Current) – a surprise to marine scientist Ana Maria GarcÃa Cegarra of the University of Antofagasta in Chile, who led a study on the phenomenon.
What’s even more surprising is the way the orcas then divvied up and shared their kills, similar to the way a human family might: the mother holding the kill in her mouth so her baby could take bites.
“Just in 2020 an article showed orcas hunting South American sea lions but we did not know that they may predate also on other marine mammals such as dolphins and even whales!” GarcÃa Cegarra told ScienceAlert.
“But the most impressive was to observe with the use of a drone the behavior of sharing the dolphin meat among orca group members. We observe how the mother and the calf feed first and later the adult male. It was like a ritual of food sharing similar to humans when we eat on Sundays with our grandmother and grandfather. I remember when I was a child my grandmother used to serve me as a child first and later adults eat.”
I love the individual pods’ different techniques of acquiring food. The one in Antarctica where they create a wave to knock seals off of floating sheets of ice is another cool example. Orcas have been documented killing Great White Sharks too. Orcas are surely one of the most intruiging species of animals on the planet.
OmniscientApizza on
“They are just playing” yea right.
t3hjs on
Thats why we dont mess with Orcas, they are intelligent top predators.
4 Comments
Summary of the article by ScienceAlert journalist Carly Cassella:
In the Humboldt Current, off the coast of Chile, an enigmatic pod of orcas has been seen tearing apart unexpected prey.
On multiple occasions, scientists and citizen scientists observed the sleek and efficient predators feasting on dusky dolphins ([*Lagenorhynchus obscurus*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dusky_dolphin)). It’s the first time orcas ([*Orcinus orca*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orca)) have been seen hunting this species of dolphin in the [Humboldt Current](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_Current) – a surprise to marine scientist Ana Maria GarcÃa Cegarra of the University of Antofagasta in Chile, who led a study on the phenomenon.
What’s even more surprising is the way the orcas then divvied up and shared their kills, similar to the way a human family might: the mother holding the kill in her mouth so her baby could take bites.
“Just in 2020 an article showed orcas hunting South American sea lions but we did not know that they may predate also on other marine mammals such as dolphins and even whales!” GarcÃa Cegarra told ScienceAlert.
“But the most impressive was to observe with the use of a drone the behavior of sharing the dolphin meat among orca group members. We observe how the mother and the calf feed first and later the adult male. It was like a ritual of food sharing similar to humans when we eat on Sundays with our grandmother and grandfather. I remember when I was a child my grandmother used to serve me as a child first and later adults eat.”
Read the peer-reviewed paper here: [https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1450624/full](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1450624/full)
I love the individual pods’ different techniques of acquiring food. The one in Antarctica where they create a wave to knock seals off of floating sheets of ice is another cool example. Orcas have been documented killing Great White Sharks too. Orcas are surely one of the most intruiging species of animals on the planet.
“They are just playing” yea right.
Thats why we dont mess with Orcas, they are intelligent top predators.