A dolphin soars through the air as it falls prey to a killer whale near Big Sur, California.Josh McInnes et al. Plos ONE, 2024 (CC-BY SA 4.0)
A group of orcas off the coast of California has honed a brutal set of hunting skills.
Trapping prey near an underwater canyon, they flip, drown, ram, and slap their targets to death.
Killer whales are apex predators; their behavior can reshape ecosystems the fishing industry.
There’s no shortage of awe when it comes to killer whales. The mysterious apex predators are continually shocking scientists with their ability to figure out creative new ways to kill their prey and shape their environment.
A new study tracking a pod of 183 killer whales off the coast of California is no exception.
These orcas found the perfect stage for an underwater ambush: a canyon in open water with steep walls, which they used to trap unsuspecting marine mammals.
“That was one of the most surprising parts of the study,” Josh McInnes, a marine biologist at the University of British Columbia in Canada and an author of the study, told New Scientist.
Orcas patrolling the canyon were seen honing in on gray whale mother-and-child pairs, trapping them against the canyon walls and chasing them until the calves became exhausted.
The killer whales would then separate the calves from their mothers by body-blocking the parent and dragging the child toward open water.
There, the orcas could call reinforcements to ram the calves with their noses, flip them in the air, or slam them with their tails. Per the study, the killer whales would often finish the calves off by jumping on top of their blowholes, pinning them underwater long enough to drown.
The ordeal lasted between 1-and-a-half and 5 hours, after which the orcas would take turns feeding off the unfortunate calves’ carcasses.
The behavior is “very unique, especially for this area at least,” McInnes said, per New Scientist.
“We’re constantly learning about killer whales. Every study that comes out is extremely valuable for our understanding of their ecology as well as their conservation needs,” said McInnes.
It’s not just the whales that fell prey to the orcas. Between 2006 and 2021, the scientists found that elephant seals, minke whales, and dolphins were often on the menu, per the study.
Learning about these animals’ fascinating behaviors doesn’t only satisfy scientific curiosity. It’s crucial to understanding the complex puzzle shaping marine ecosystems.
Previous studies have shown that even a few orcas picking up a new hunting behavior can entirely reshape the local food chain.
That was the case, for instance, of two orcas off the coast of South Africa that chased away all the great white sharks from the Gansbaai coast. The big fish were scared off when the killer whales learned how to suck out their prey’s livers with almost surgical precision — while the fish were still alive.
A shark that washed up after its liver was ripped out by killer whales.Marine Dynamics Conservation Trust
In the great whites’ absence, lower-level predators started rising toward the top of the food chain, reshaping the local ecosystem, scientists later found.
Experts are now keeping a close eye on this unique event as the great whites are relocating. This could have cascading effects on the local fishing and tourism industries, scientists have said.
“Over two decades of annual visits to South Africa, I’ve observed the profound impact these killer whales have on the local white shark population,” Primo Micarelli, a marine biologist who studies the orcas in South Africa, told CNN, Business Insider previously reported.
“Despite my awe for these predators, I’m increasingly concerned about the coastal marine ecology balance,” he added.
It’s not just the orcas’ predation on wildlife that can have knock-on effects.
Portugal last year had to ban whale-watching after local killer whales took to ramming leisure boats, leaving some ships irreparably damaged.
The orcas’ extreme influence on local ecosystems could also be a powerful argument to push for their protection.
Better understanding their ways helps scientists forge tactics to protect orcas from human threats, such as disturbance from shipping traffic and noise, entanglement in fishing gear, and oil spills
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
