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An attack on a strap-toothed whale. 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 ...
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]
The sperm whale or cachalot [a] (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator.It is the only living member of the genus Physeter and one of three extant species in the sperm whale family, along with the pygmy sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale of the genus Kogia.
Tilikum was the largest orca in captivity. [8] He measured 22.5 feet (6.9 m) in length and weighed about 12,500 pounds (5,700 kg). [9] His pectoral fins were 7 feet (2.1 m) long, his fluke curled under, and his 6.5-foot-tall (2.0 m) dorsal fin was collapsed completely to his left side.
Sperm whales are massive deep-sea predators with a gray body, pointed teeth and a block-like head. Naturaliste Charters shared a video of the rare encounter on Facebook on March 26.
In the wild, orcas do not attack people; it is not clear if this is due to orca societal norms or because humans are not part of their regular diet. The only known orca-related human fatalities have all occurred at marine mammal parks where orcas were held in captivity.
[Marine Biologist Lisa Steiner]"I'm probably one of the original sperm whale geeks basically."Marine biologist Lisa Steiner has made it her life’s workto help people understand sperm whales ...
Sailors cleaning a ship near St. Ilona Island and Cape Nigra were attacked by a giant squid; two were pulled into the deep, and a third later died from injuries sustained during the attack. One of the squid's arms, severed during the attack, was 7.5 meters (25 ft) in length; the full arm was estimated to be 10 meters (33 ft).