Killer Whale Conundrum: Why Are Orcas Harassing and Killing Porpoises Without Eating Them? (scitechdaily.com)

submitted 11 months ago by Bebo@literature.cafe to c/science@lemmy.world

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For many years, scientists have been puzzled by the behavior of Pacific Northwest fish-eating killer whales, who have been seen harassing and sometimes killing porpoises without eating them.

A study recently published in Marine Mammal Science, co-led by Deborah Giles of Wild Orca and Sarah Teman of the SeaDoc Society, a program of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, looked at more than 60 years of recorded interactions between Southern Resident killer whales and porpoises in the Salish Sea to better understand why they exhibit this behavior.

https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.13073

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[-] slampisko@lemmy.world 17 points 11 months ago

Seems like killing without porpoise is not just a human thing

[-] tacosanonymous@lemm.ee 16 points 11 months ago

"…the reason(s) for this behavior is unknown. Hypotheses include the social and developmental benefits of play, hunting practice, or displaced epimeletic behavior."