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Killer whale mothers instruct their offspring on how to simulate drowning one another, a never-before-seen video reveals. This intense training session equips orcas with the necessary abilities to slay the biggest animal ever to exist.
Subsequently, the pod uses this method while pursuing a blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus). The orcas seem to surprise the whale, granting them a strategic edge in what might otherwise be an uneven confrontation with the massive whale. They converge around the whale’s head, submerging its blowhole, but it is unclear if they succeed in killing the gigantic mammal based on the video.
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Although scholars were aware that orcas are able to kill whales via drowning, “this type of simulated predatory behavior hasn’t been recorded on camera before,” as relayed to The Times by a spokesperson for the BBC, which documented the footage for its upcoming wildlife documentary series “Parenthood.”
Renowned British biologist and presenter Sir David Attenborough provides the narration for the clip. “These orca must operate at peak performance,” Attenborough elucidates in the recording. “They prey on the largest creatures that have ever existed: blue whales.”
To capture the scene off Bremer Bay in Western Australia, filmmakers employed specialized underwater stabilizing equipment referred to as gimbals, along with tow cameras. “This technology enabled the team to move at the same pace as the hunting orca group, providing fresh perceptions into their conduct,” shared the BBC spokeswoman with The Times.
For the first time, orcas have been filmed simulating the drowning of one of their own.
Bremer Bay hosts an orca community comprising around 200 animals, rendering it the largest acknowledged aggregation of orcas throughout the Southern Hemisphere, as per the tour company Bremer Bay Killer Whales. Pod sizes vary from six to twenty orcas, typically consuming giant squid (Architeuthis dux) and colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) in lieu of blue whales.
Experts speculate that orcas likely pursue blue whales not for sustenance, but instead as a result of their capabilities and recreational desires. “They interact with [whales] in a similar fashion to how cats engage with prey,” communicated Nancy Black, a marine biologist who leads the whale-watching enterprise Monterey Bay Whale Watch, to National Geographic subsequent to drone footage of orcas assaulting a blue whale surfaced in 2017.
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However, targeting a lone adult whale carries risks; thus, orcas often target blue whales that are ailing or accompanied by offspring. According to National Geographic, offspring tend to fatigue more rapidly than adult whales, falling behind and becoming vulnerable to orcas.
The BBC series “Parenthood” is structured into five sections, detailing strategies and actions employed by animal parents to bolster the prospects of their offspring. In the U.S., the show is anticipated to broadcast on PBS’s “Nature” later this year or early the following year.
“My particular favorite has to be the narrative of the African social spider, a maternal spider that not only nurtures 50 offspring with her kin but eventually immolates herself to nourish her maturing young in an act referred to as matriphagy,” shared Jeff Wilson, the series’ helmsman, with The Times.
You can observe a stomach-churning excerpt of this self-sacrifice here.
Orca quiz: Will you sink or swim?
Sascha PareSocial Links NavigationStaff writer
Sascha is a U.K.-based staff scribe at Live Science. She possesses a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University of Southampton in England and a master’s degree in scientific communications from Imperial College London. Her contributions have been featured in The Guardian and the health resource Zoe. Beyond her literary endeavors, she is keen on tennis, baking, and exploring second-hand outlets for treasures.
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