Posted on 10/06/2021 1:44:04 AM PDT by blueplum
There’s a new type of killer whale that prowls deeper waters and specializes in hunting big game, new research by a B.C. scientist suggests.
...But evidence indicates there’s a newly identified type of orca — outer coast killer whales — that are a distinct subgroup of transient whales, and which frequent the ocean depths along the continental shelf off the coast of central California and Oregon, said lead author Josh McInnes, a scientist with the Marine Mammal Research Unit at the University of British Columbia.
Once believed to be part of the larger West Coast population, these outer coast killer whales have a vocal dialect and culture distinct from their transient cousins, and they specialize in hunting big game...
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalobserver.com ...
Orcas are predators of the sea, and they are intelligent to boot from what I studied about them. Sometimes I wonder why I didn’t get into marine biology back then in college, it is interesting.
If they had thumbs We would all be in trouble.
i do not think they are new... our arrogance in thinking they are shows that it is us who are new to this...
Eh, transient oceanic orca pods have been known about for over 25 years. This appears to be a subgroup of Bigg’s orcas. Interesting research.
Too bad they can’t easily get DNA samples of a large number of these orcas - that would be a definitive way to determine subspecies. So for now it’s determininatiins based on location, vocalizations and dietary preferences.
Researchers could take water samples near the pod and get fecal DNA.
Maybe! Probably safer than getting a tissue sample!
All cetaceans are smart, but orcas seem to use it to make them better hunters.
CC
Opposing Fins ?
Or Dew Fins ?
I thought Orcas are dolphins. Are dolphins whales?
Ok yes they are. I did not know that.
It’s a result of globull warming making the water warmer and thus giving the whales more food to eat making them bigger and badder.
/sarc?
No.
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