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Orcas (or killer whales) are large, powerful aquatic apex predators. There have been incidents where orcas were perceived to attack humans in the wild, but such attacks are less common than those by captive orcas. [1] In captivity, there have been several non-fatal and four fatal attacks on humans since the 1970s. [2]
A hunt begins with a chase followed by a violent attack on the exhausted prey. Large whales often show signs of orca attack via tooth rake marks. [84] Pods of female sperm whales sometimes protect themselves by forming a protective circle around their calves with their flukes facing outwards, using them to repel the attackers. [90]
Before extensive research on whale vocalizations was completed, the low-frequency pulses emitted by some species of whales were often not correctly attributed to them. Dr Payne wrote: "Before it was shown that fin whales were the cause [of powerful sounds], no one could take seriously the idea that such regular, loud, low, and relatively pure frequency tones were coming from within the ocean ...
Researchers have warned that human impact on the ocean is putting increasing pressure on dolphins and whales, and their ecosystems. The UK whale and dolphin conservation charity Orca recorded ...
Wild killer whales may travel up to 100 miles (160 km) in a day, and critics say the animals are too big and intelligent to be suitable for captivity. [150] Captives occasionally act aggressively towards themselves, their tankmates, or humans, which critics say is a result of stress . [ 151 ]
Skull of a cross between a narwhal and a beluga whale, at the Zoological Museum, Copenhagen. The beluga was first described in 1776 by Peter Simon Pallas. [1] It is a member of the family Monodontidae, which is in turn part of the parvorder Odontoceti (toothed whales). [1]
Whales are fully aquatic, open-ocean animals: they can feed, mate, give birth, suckle and raise their young at sea. Whales range in size from the 2.6 metres (8.5 ft) and 135 kilograms (298 lb) dwarf sperm whale to the 29.9 metres (98 ft) and 190 tonnes (210 short tons) blue whale, which is the
Short film My Pilot, Whale (28’, 2014, directed by Alexander and Nicole Gratovsky [68]) demonstrates the possibility of interaction between humans and free-living pilot whales, offering the viewer a number of philosophical questions related to cetaceans: about their attitude to the world, what we have in common, what we — humans — can ...