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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 ]
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]
Cetacean intelligence is the overall intelligence and derived cognitive ability of aquatic mammals belonging in the infraorder Cetacea (cetaceans), including baleen whales, porpoises, and dolphins. In 2014, a study found for first time that the long-finned pilot whale has more neocortical neurons than any other mammal, including humans ...
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 ...
False killer whales are large marine predators. They are the fourth-largest extant species of oceanic dolphin, exceeded in size only by the orca, and the two species of pilot whales. Females reach a maximum size of 5 m (16 ft) in length and 1,200 kg (2,600 lb) in weight, and males 6 m (20 ft) long and 2,300 kg (5,100 lb).
Sperm whales have the largest brain mass of any animal on Earth, averaging 8,000 cm 3 (490 in 3) and 7.8 kg (17 lb) in mature males. [23] The brain to body mass ratio in some odontocetes, such as belugas and narwhals, is second only to humans. [24] In some whales, however, it is less than half that of humans: 0.9% versus 2.1%. [citation needed]
The second-largest whale species after blue whales, fin whales are classified as endangered species, according to NOAA. A fully grown whale can reach up to 85 feet long and weigh between 40 and 80 ...
Whales have beached throughout human history, with evidence of humans salvaging from stranded sperm whales in southern Spain during the Upper Magdalenian era some 14,000 years before the present. [2] Some strandings can be attributed to natural and environmental factors, such as rough weather, weakness due to old age or infection, difficulty ...