Researchers have documented orcas focusing on the enviornment’s suited animal, the blue whale, for the principle time.
A paper published in Marine Mammal Science highlighted various cases the put a female-led pod of orcas attacked, killed and ate the tongues of grownup and calf blue whales.
The certain occasions befell off Bremer Bay in Western Australia. The principle and 2nd assaults were in 2019, and the third was documented in 2021. One among the blue whale victims perceived to be a wholesome grownup. The principle attack was on an grownup blue whale measuring between 18 and 22 meters (59 and 72 feet) long, and it was location upon by at the least 12 orcas, including eight grownup females and one grownup male, with younger orcas observing.
In a brutal stay to the attack, three female orcas lined up and pushed it underwater, while two others attacked its head, with one swimming internal its mouth and starting to like parts of its tongue.
The researchers talked about in their paper:
“Right here we present the principle documentation of killer whales killing and eating blue whales: two contributors killed, 16 days apart in 2019, and a third in 2021…Seriously, the principle whale taken perceived to be a wholesome grownup.”
Evaluation out the paper right here.
Sam Helmyhttps://www.deeperblue.com
Sam Helmy is a TDI/SDI Trainer Coach, and PADI Workers and Trimix Trainer. Diving for 28 years, a dive pro for 14, I even have traveled broadly chasing my passion for diving. I’m every part diving, with a alive to hobby in exploration, Sharks and enormous stuff, Pictures and Decompression theory. Diving is largely the one and fully passion that has stayed with me my whole life!
