Killer whale attacks man
- Thread starter joel
- Start date
I don't really want to get into it in the thread, but based on my experience, Blackfish has nothing worth believing as it is a money making mockumentary. They made up a LOT of the information and left out even more.
As an active participant in rehab/release marine animal programs in the US, I can tell you for a fact that most of the animals you are hoping to set free to the ocean would die.
I should make myself more clear. Yes if we just releases all the whales back they would just die. I'm more for advocating not to breed these animals and to not take them from the ocean anymore so this sad practice will come to an end. They are just too big with such complex inter relashanships ,and the fact that they seem to be sentient makes it worse
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I've been meaning to ask you guys but why would the whales die if they are turned loose?I would think that such advanced intelligence animals would know how to survive in the ocean.
K rich I would think it would be similar to if people had to all of a sudden fend for themselves. Sure some may survive but a lot wouldn't know where to begin. I also think it would be hard for Orcas to survive because they rely on their pods for support.
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Could be but they are predators with built in hunting skills and instincts.I was not aware that they relied heavily on a pod.Thanks for posting,I'm not looking to argue but just trying to learn more about the possibility of release.
Orcas are in the same family as Dolphins which is a very social family of animals. I'm sure that some may be able to survive in less then ideal situations but the odds are probably not very good.
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From my understanding while relatively rare there are Orcas that hunt alone but even in those instances the individual was born into a pod and learned quite a bit before leaving. Instincts will only take certain animals so far and in Killer Whales much of their hunting techniques is learned through observation rather then instinctual and much of it is cooperative. For instance hunting seals one whale may rush the shore while the pod hangs back waiting for the panicked fleeing seals to swim right into the rest of the pod. Seals that take refuge on ice floe will be washed off by a pod rushing the floe causing a wave that pushes the seal off within the Whales reach again. While hunting fish and sharks Orcas have been known to corral/herd them to make catching them easier, with fish causing them to group together densely and then a whale will rush through the center. With sharks they've been know to corral them toward the shore creating a line so the shark has no way to retreat without either beaching itself or making a run through their line. Even the tonic immobility they employ on sharks is learned not instinctual which is why only certain pods and individuals practice it while others go about different ways of dispatching a shark, it's because the younger whales are learning it by watching the elder members of their pod. This goes for many other hunting techniques employed, young Orcas learn many things through example.
Three major hurdles come up that need to be worked through:
Food. Under human care, they quickly learn that people mean food. When turned loose, one of the biggest problems is they hang out following people instead of hunting. This is true for most aquatic rehab/release animals. Even something like a shark, sea turtle or manatee can't just be kicked back out into the wild after living in a controlled environment.
Health. In the wild the immune system is VERY strong (not to say the ones under human care are weak, but they are working against what they are surrounded in - which means sterilized water to maintain health as per USDA regulations). Also, introduction of new pathogens can be a problem. There are several studies showing animals under human care can carry 'captive' specific problems that they are immune to due to living in the environment. Wild counter parts could possibly suffer majors losses if those pathogens got out and spread to populations not equipped to beating them off.
Social acceptance. Like posted, they are normally pack hunters. Reintroduction to a pod is not easy. A pod is not normally welcoming towards new members (even if they were once together).
