The Most Strategic Hunters of the Great Ocean
The Most Strategic Hunters of the Great Ocean
Photograph by Gerard Lacz/Animals Animals—Earth Scenes
“Killer Whale” is what people and media call them. However, this mammals is actually are the largest dolphins kind with the scientific name is “Orcinus orca“. A mature Killer Whale has the length of a school bus and weight up to six tons. The average lifespan of this giant is ranges from 50 to 80 years.
Killer Whales are one of the most powerful and successful predators in the sea or even in the wild world that humans have ever known about. Their food includes some marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, sometime they eat fish, squid, and seabirds, sometimes even whales. A tooth of this sea’s nightmare can be four inches long (ten centimeters). Killer Whales live and hunt in big group about 40 individuals.
The reason of calling Killer Whales are the smartest hunter of the Ocean is the statistic they work together to hunt down a prey located on a big ice floe.
Watch this video for the full interesting hunting progress: Killer Whales “Wave Wash” Seal
They swim together in the same curve path in order to make waves. The use of these waves is for some reasons which are reducing ice floe size, clearing the ice around the floe, moving the target floe into open water, and the most important one is to wave washing the prey into the ocean. After the seal falling down into the water, the predators need to hurt and take the prey by the tail with the purpose of making the seal unable to swim quickly, but this job is not that easy. Therefore, the Killer Whales use another technique that they make bubble bursting around the seal to attack it easily. Some of the whales diving under the seal and start blowing a bubble while some others use their tail and body slap on the water surface. Within this blur scene, the fierce hunters quickly have their achievement.
Killer Whales swim together to make wave (www.telegraph.co.uk )
Wave break ice and knock seals fall into the water (www.telegraph.co.uk)
Wave break ice and knock seals fall into the water (www.telegraph.co.uk)
Beyond that, these seals hunter also train their young members of this technique and keep standing at the top as one of the most successful predator in the world.
Watch this video for the full interesting hunting progress: Killer Whales teach their young males
References:
Ingrid N. Visser, Thomas G. Smith, Ian D. Bullock, Geoffrey D. Green, Olle G. L. Carlsson, Santiago ImbertiAntarctic peninsula killer whales (Orcinus orca) hunt seals and a penguin on floating ice, Article first published online: 8 NOV 2007, DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-7692.2007.00163.x, 2007 by the Society for Marine Mammalogy. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/doi/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2007.00163.x/full (Access on 5 April 2013)
Thomas G. Smith, Donald B. Siniff, Richard Reichle, Sheridan Stone. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 1981, Vol. 59, No. 6 : pp. 1185-1189. Coordinated behavior of killer whales, Orcinus orca, hunting a crabeater seal, Lobodon carcinophagus (doi: 10.1139/z81-167)
“Killer Whales Wave Wash Seal | Frozen Planet” by DiscoveryNetworks. YouTube Channel, March 18, 2012
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPge_0lea3o
“Killer Whales Gang Up to Capture Seal” by NationalGeographic. Youtube Channnel, Aug 30, 2011
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3__L0oAa2T8