Killer whales are so intelligent that they are a little scary! 4 Surprising Behaviors of Killer Whales.
シャチは、その高度な知能を反映した行動を示します。 驚くべき行動には、サケの死骸を頭に乗せて泳ぐなどの一時的な遊びや、ジブラルタル海峡近くで小型ボートを攻撃する例などが含まれます。 シャチは、地域の狩猟方法の影響を受け、コミュニケーションのための明確な「方言」を持つ独特の社会構造を持っています。 母系制のポッド構造(群れ)は「祖母効果」を強調し、閉経後のメスはその経験によってポッドの生存率を高める。 更に、シャチは人間の言葉を含む音を真似ることができます。 私たちの知識にもかかわらず、シャチの行動の多くは謎のままであり、さらなる研究が必要です。(English) Killer whales, or orcas, exhibit behaviours reflecting their advanced intelligence. Some surprising behaviours include transient play, like swimming with a salmon carcass on their head and instances of attacking small boats near the Strait of Gibraltar. Orcas have a unique social structure with distinct "dialects" for communication, influenced by regional hunting methods. The matrilineal pod(group) design emphasizes the "grandmother effect," where post-menopausal females enhance pod(group) survival with their experience. Additionally, orcas can imitate sounds, including human speech. Despite our knowledge, many orca behaviours remain a mystery, warranting further research.
Killer whales are so intelligent that they are a little scary! 4 Surprising Behaviors of Killer Whales.
1)
What do you think of when you think of killer whales?
They are also known as "the popular person in the aquarium" in Japan. On the other hand, many people know they are fierce creatures in the wild.
Killer whales are known as intelligent creatures, and here are five surprising behaviours.
2)
Transient play, fashion is born
In the world of killer whales, just like in the human world, "transient play" is famous.
In the summer of 1987, a female killer whale in the Puget Sound region of northwest Washington, USA, was seen swimming with a salmon carcass on her head.
Shortly after that, two other nearby pods(groups) exhibited the same behaviour.
This behaviour lasted for about a month but was rarely seen after that.
3)
Mysterious action hitting a small ship
In addition, since around 2020, dozens of cases of wild killer whales attacking small boats have been reported around the Strait of Gibraltar off the Iberian Peninsula, which separates Spain and Morocco.
This is a scarce record, as there are few records of killer whales attacking humans.
4)
It is not clear what precisely this behaviour is.
What is certain is that the aggression began with a single female killer whale called White Gladys.
Therefore, it is predicted that "behaviours initiated by an animal with a grudge against humans or small boats" "became a fad among curious killer whales and a transient pastime".
5)
Suppose killer whales find a behaviour initiated by their mates amusing. In that case, even meaningless behaviour can be replicated and spread repeatedly, just as fashions are born in human society.
This is similar to trends like TIK TOK in humans and fashion trends, and it is easy for us to understand.
But when I heard that killer whales do it, I was surprised.
This may be a behaviour peculiar to creatures with advanced intelligence.
6)
The unique social structure of orcas - There is a 'dialect' for hunting
Voice is an essential means of communication for cetaceans, including killer whales.
Sound travels much faster and farther in water than in air, allowing whales to communicate with their mates over long distances.
Killer whales are highly social, forming groups of 3 to 50 animals (pods) and moving while communicating with each other.
7)
The pod(group) has a matrilineal structure centred on the mother, daughter and grandchild. Closely related pods(groups) also communicate using similar voices. There are so-called "dialects" in human society.
So why do dialects exist in the world of killer whales?
It is thought that "the optimal hunting method differs from pod(group) to pod(group) because the food is different".
Killer whales hunt various animals, including fish, seals and whales. However, depending on the region, the bait may differ slightly.
8)
For example, killer whales hunt sharks off the coast of South Africa. After the hunt, it was also confirmed that the internal organs were removed with almost surgical precision.
In addition, they particularly like to eat 'liver', which has a high nutritional value and oil content. So, pod(group) members in this region need to learn from their elders how to remove a shark's liver.
It is also believed that all killer whales worldwide are of the same species, and only one type exists.
However, it has been confirmed that there are some regional differences in the pattern and shape of the body. Some people believe that regional differences in dialect and behaviour create differences in body characteristics and promote species differentiation.
9)
The 'grandmother effect' increases the survival rate of grandchildren
In the world of killer whales, there are no loners called lone wolves; they live in groups called pods(groups).
I mentioned earlier that the pod(group) is a matrilineal structure to which the so-called "grandmother killer whales" belong.
A female killer whale reaches menopause around 40 and can no longer reproduce, but she survives to around 90 and remains in a pod(group).
10)
Males, on the other hand, have a lifespan of about 50 years.
Usually, natural organisms do not go through menopause when reproduction becomes impossible because they live with the ultimate goal of reproduction.
From an evolutionary point of view, fertile females usually die because "there is no point in non-fertile females living long''.
However, killer whales have post-menopausal female "grandmothers" between 40 and 90. This is quite unusual biologically.
11)
So why do "granny" killer whales that cannot reproduce remain part of the pod(group)?
The grandmother contributes to the pod(group) by being more "experienced" than the younger generation.
In particular, it is thought that the survival rate of the pod is increased by providing the pod members with information about abundant food sources and efficient hunting methods.
12)
Scientists who have been studying killer whale pods(groups) in the Pacific Northwest for decades have also found that when a grandmother kills a killer whale, the mortality rate of her grandchildren increases significantly over the next two years.
13)
Also, in anthropology, research on the Hadza, who live as hunter-gatherers in Tanzania, and a 2004 data analysis on Finns and Canadians who lived in the pre-industrial era found that "there is a grandmother". Grandchildren were more likely to survive to adulthood".
These are called "grandmother effects".
14)
As mentioned above, killer whales are one of the few mammals whose females go through menopause before they die, and this has been a mystery.
The results of this study have made progress towards solving this mystery.
15)
Can imitate other animals' voices
In 2018, it was reported that a 16-year-old female killer whale named "Wikie" at an aquarium in Antibes, France, "speaks human language".
Scientists taught her to say words like "hello" and "bye-bye" that sound like human words, and she could make similar sounds from her blowhole.
16)
There was no evidence that Wikie knew what the word meant, but the fact that she could imitate the human voice was surprising.
Although the cause is unclear, killer whales are known to imitate the voices of other animals.
For example, a 2011 study found that they can imitate the vocalisations of other killer whales with different dialects.
17)
There have also been documented cases of bottlenose dolphins imitating the voice of sea lions.
On the other hand, they have also been recorded imitating the voices of sea lions. As sea lions are prey for killer whales, this may have something to do with killer whale hunting.
Killer whales are brilliant and have many things in common with human society, such as having a dialect for each group, creating fashionable games and having the "granny effect".
18)
I wonder if some people felt a sense of familiarity when they heard this, and some people got scared.
Killer whales, being marine organisms, are challenging to observe continuously, and although they are well-known organisms, many characteristics are still not understood.
Much new research is happening, so I look forward to seeing how orca research develops.
Killer whales are so intelligent that they are a little scary! 4 Surprising Behaviors of Killer Whales.
https://nazology.net/archives/130123
Add info)
I want you to know how great killer whales are!
https://xn--q9j260gb00afdax51e.com/2019/10/30/682/
The scientific name for killer whales is "Orcinus Orca," which means "demon from the underworld". Also known as the "Killer Whale" or "sea gang", it is a terrifying term. Why does such a threatening name call it?
This is because killer whales have no natural enemies.
After confirming that there are seals on the ice, killer whales deliberately create waves to throw them into the sea!
There are small waves at first, then big ones at the end, and seals are thrown into the sea. They aim there and hunt.
Orca:
4.9-6.7m(Maximum 10m)
3-7t(maximum 10t)
60-70km/h(up to 80km)
Great White Shark:
4.0〜4.8m(Maximum 6m)
0.68 to 1t (maximum 2.5t)
25-35km/h
Polar bear:
2.0-2.5m (Maximum 3.4m)
400-600kg(Maximum 1t)
6.5km/h
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How Orcas Kill Great White Sharks | Orca vs. Great White
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SnKErN93qs
Add info No3)
The world's giant whale, "blue whale." How big is it? Can we meet in Japan?
https://aquariumpicks.com/largest-whale
The most enormous whale in the world is the blue whale, the largest non-whale species. Plants are not included here because they will disappear at maximum if they are included as living things.
The size of such a blue whale is "up to about 34m". 34m is equivalent to an 11-story building, so if you have a large building nearby, please compare it once.
It is said that the maximum length is about 34m, but the total length of males is often 24 to 26m, females are 25 to 27m, and females tend to be slightly larger than males.
They can also weigh over 150 tons. It may be hard to imagine even if it is said to be 150 tons, but since the weight of an average car is about 1.5 to 2 tons, it is tremendous.