orka

In an hours-long struggle, as many as 70 killer whales hunted down and killed a blue whale off the southwestern coast of Australia, according to a marine biologist who saw the “astonishing, a little bit disturbing and truly mind blowing” event take place. >> read more …

Scientists have for a long time thought that orcas in Iceland specialized in eating fish (like herring). Recently, however, experts have noticed that some Icelandic orcas seem to enjoy another type of snack: marine mammals. This could be a problem and eating marine mammals could threaten the long-term survival of these orcas. In this post, … Meer lezen

Loro Parque in Tenerife has announced that one of the young orcas it holds captive has died. Skyla, a female orca was born at SeaWorld in Orlando (US) in 2004 to mother Kalina and father Tilikum. She was just two years of age when she was taken from her mother and flown to the Canary … Meer lezen

Bigg’s, or transient, killer whales use stealth and teamwork to hunt their marine mammal prey. For a seal hightailing it from an attack, the best bet for survival is to get out of the water. But now, even dry land is not safe. >> read more …

Many human grandmothers love to spoil their grandchildren with attention and treats, and for good reason: Studies have shown that having a living grandmother increases a child’s chance of survival. Now, new research shows the same may be true for killer whales. By providing young animals with some freshly caught salmon now and then—or perhaps … Meer lezen

Orka’s zijn de grootste dolfijnachtigen in de oceaan. Ze kunnen bijna 10 meter lang worden en wegen soms wel 5000 kilo. Orka’s lijken misschien groot en sterk; toch is hun voortbestaan onzeker. Dat komt omdat ze met een verscheidenheid aan dodelijke bedreigingen worden geconfronteerd. En volgens een nieuwe studie is dat met name te wijten … Meer lezen

Humans are often implicated in orca deaths. Now a team that looked at how orcas in the Pacific Ocean died has linked some deaths with human activity. >> Read more …

Met vette koppen lazen we enkele maanden geleden dat orka’s voor de Spaanse en Portugese kust schepen aanvielen. De indruk werd gewekt dat het om gevaarlijke en agressieve dieren ging, maar niets blijkt minder waar: de nog jonge orka’s waren vermoedelijk alleen maar aan het spelen. >> lees verder …