Social 11 ways orcas show their terrifying intelligence

[LeonardoBjj]

By Patrick Pester

Orcas have their own dialect, greeting ceremonies and even wore salmon as hats in a weird fad during the 1980s.

Orcas are one of the most successful species in the seas, reigning at the top of the food chain in every ocean. And one of the reasons they are so successful is simple: they're really, really clever.

Orcas (Orcinus orca) have rich and distinct social lives and have learned a remarkable variety of hunting strategies to take down everything from blue whales to great white sharks. Here are 10 examples of orca intelligence that prove killer whales are killer smart.

They get caught up in fads

Orcas are social learners and occasionally get caught up in fads — a temporary behavior started by one or two individuals, adopted by others and then swiftly abandoned. For example, a population in the Pacific went through a phase of wearing salmon as hats in the 1980s. The trend started when a female orca began carrying around dead salmon on her head, and in the weeks that followed, the behavior spread to two other pods in the same community.

Researchers spotted the salmon-wearing orcas doing the same behavior the following year and then never saw them carry fish on their heads again, according to a 2004 review of nonhuman culture published in the journal Biological Conservation. Recent orca attacks on boats in Europe may be another example of a killer whale fad.

They engage in "greeting ceremonies"

Killer whales have complicated social rituals and even engage in what researchers call "greeting ceremonies." These interactions are the orca equivalent of a mosh pit, with orcas lining up in two rows and then tumbling together, Smithsonian Magazine reported. During one such event, the greeting coincided with a birth. Three orca pods reunited in the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the boundary between the U.S. and Canada in 2020, and as the orcas whistled and clicked to each other, a pregnant female produced a calf, KUOW, Seattle's National Public Radio news station, reported. The orcas weren't foraging and appeared to be there just to socialize on the day of the birth.

They have distinct dialects

Orcas live in pods based around related mothers and their descendants. Each pod has its own distinctive calls, like different dialects of the same language. The species can learn to mimic new sounds, which may help them form these dialects.

Researchers taught a captive female orca called Wikie to mimic human words like "hello" and "bye-bye," as well as the calls of some other animals. Wikie learned quickly and could reproduce some new sounds on her first attempt.

They employ specialized hunting strategies

Orcas learn highly specialized hunting strategies and pass that knowledge to their offspring. Some killer whales in Argentina beach themselves to snatch seals on the shore, while in Antarctica, other populations create waves to push seals off floating sea ice.

And it's not just seals they learn unique strategies for; killer whales are salmon specialists in parts of the Pacific, beaked whale hunters off Australia and sting-ray snatchers off New Zealand, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List.

They're picky eaters



Some orca populations seem to have learned that shark livers are particularly rich in nutrients and that it's worth killing sharks and discarding the rest of their carcasses just to get to the nutritious organs. Researchers have documented killer whale populations targeting the livers of a variety of sharks, including attacking great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) off South Africa and tearing open whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) off Mexico.

 

[LeonardoBjj]

They appear to have friends

A 2021 study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B found that orca social bonds are comparable to those seen in primates, including humans. A killer whale interacts more with certain members of its pod, usually those of a similar age and of the same sex.

Michael Weiss, research director of the Center for Whale Research in Washington state, led the study and spoke to Science about two distantly related young males that were always together during the research. "Every time you see a group of whales, those two are right there interacting with each other," Weiss said. "I wouldn't hesitate to use the word friendship here."

They seem to grieve

In 2018, researchers spotted a seemingly grief-stricken female orca pushing her dead newborn calf around. The orca, named Tahlequah, pushed her lifeless calf for at least 17 days, covering 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) of ocean before she eventually let go of it. The Center for Whale Research described it as a "tour of grief."

Wildlife charity Whale and Dolphin Conservation noted on its website that researchers have documented several species of whales and dolphins carrying deceased calves or juveniles, and these "mourning behaviors" are likely common among social, long-lived mammals. Scientists have historically been reluctant to use words like "grief" for fear of projecting human emotions onto animals, BBC Earth previously reported. The motivations behind this behavior still aren't fully understood.

They can be trained

Humans have been training captive orcas for decades. At SeaWorld, for example, killer whales strike poses, splash crowds, wave their pectoral fins and generally flip-flop around on command.

Keeping killer whales in an artificial environment is controversial, with some experts arguing that it causes stress and contributes to disease. SeaWorld announced it was ending its orca captive breeding program in 2016, and the orcas it has now will be the last generation in its care.

They care for one another

Researchers have documented numerous examples of orcas supporting their fellow pod members. For example, orcas have helped injured or deformed family members survive by catching food for them, the Daily Mail previously reported. Killer whale mothers also care for their sons well into adulthood, and orca grandmothers care for their grandchildren after they go through menopause (one of a handful of species to do so).

A 2015 study published in the journal Current Biology found that older females also guide their pod members to food, especially during tough times when food is scarce, suggesting that orcas that no longer reproduce support the survival chances of the pod by imparting wisdom.

Their brains are big

A killer whale's brain can weigh as much as 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms) and is well equipped for analyzing underwater environments, the Orlando Sentinel reported in 2010. One of the species' most impressive intellectual tools involves echolocation. Orcas click to create sound waves and locate prey by detecting when those waves bounce off something. Researchers believe that southern resident killer whales, an orca population that lives off the Pacific Northwest coast, can distinguish chinook salmon from other fish by detecting the size and orientation of salmon swim bladders, which give off unique acoustic signatures, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

They hunted whales with humans

For around 1,000 years, a population of orcas off the coast of Australia hunted alongside Indigenous people, and later European whalers. They would hit the water to alert humans to the whales' presence and would sometimes tow them to their location using a rope. In exchange, the humans gave the orcas the whales' lips and tongues. The relationship became known as the "Law of the Tongue." It continued until the 1930s, by which time commercial whaling had caused baleen whale stocks to plummet. The orcas left, and this killer whale population is now believed to be dead.

https://www.livescience.com/animals/ways-orcas-show-their-terrifying-intelligence

 

[LeonardoBjj]

Orcas that hunted alongside humans might be extinct

By Patrick Pester

Researchers used DNA analysis and traditional knowledge to learn about an orca named Old Tom and his family's remarkable relationship with humans.

A killer whale hunting alongside a whaling boat in the early 20th century. (Image credit: Charles E. Wellings/Eden Killer Whale Museum)


A mysterious population of orcas said to have hunted alongside Indigenous Australian whalers for millennia and European whalers for decades appears to be extinct, genetic analysis has revealed.

The coastal Thaua people, part of the Yuin nation, would sing to the beowas (orcas) as they hunted baleen whales together for generations in the bay of Turembulerrer (Twofold) off eastern Australia. Orcas took only the lips and tongue of slain whales in a mutually beneficial exchange called the "Law of the Tongue," according to a study published Oct. 12 in the Journal of Heredity.

In the 19th Century, European colonizers took advantage of this law to create a booming commercial whaling operation in the bay. Written records suggest orcas would slap the waters in front of the whaling station in the town of Eden to alert the whaling teams, which included Thaua people, to the presence of whales. The orcas are said to have led the whalers to the whales, sometimes by towing them on a rope, and manipulated the harpoon line to slow a snagged whale down and help secure the kill.

By the 1930s, after hunting with humans for 1,000 years, the population vanished.

To learn more about these orcas, researchers analyzed the DNA of a 23-foot-long (7-meter) orca (Orcinus orca) from this group called "Old Tom." His DNA proved different enough to living orcas to suggest that the whale-hunting population he belonged to is now extinct.

The study also tapped into traditional knowledge to learn more about the relationship between Indigenous Australians and the "killers of Eden." Study coauthor Steven Holmes, a Thaua Traditional Custodian, wrote in the study that the Thaua people consider beowas (orcas) to be their brothers, connected through Dreamtime stories that say when a Thaua member dies, they are reincarnated as a beowa.

"My people had a long-lasting friendship with the beowa in Eden, especially Old Tom," Holmes said. "My Nan, Catherine Holmes nee Brierly, told us about her great Grandfather, Budginbro who along with other Thaua would swim with Old Tom, holding on to his dorsal fin, my ancestors were never hurt or injured."

Old Tom washed up dead in 1930, and his skeleton is kept at the Eden Killer Whale Museum. Isabella Reeves, a doctoral candidate at Flinders University in Australia, led the new study, and went to the museum to drill Old Tom's teeth and jaw for DNA. They first established Old Tom was male. That's unusual for orcas given his active role in the whale hunts — research has found male orcas tend to let their moms do the hunting. "The males are really lazy and just like to look pretty, basically," Reeves said.

Old Tom likely shared a common ancestor with New Zealand orcas. However, much of the variation in Old Tom's genome isn't present in the recorded DNA of any living population, meaning it was likely lost through extinction, the researchers found.

Most orcas had left Eden by the time Old Tom died and all but disappeared soon after. Thaua whalers originally hunted alongside orcas for subsistence, but the method became commercial under the Europeans. "Up until the point that relationship was commercialized, it was going okay," Reeves said.

Exactly when and how the human-orca relationship started is unknown. Stories passed down from generation to generation suggest that the Thaua people and other Aboriginals hunted with the orcas long before the Europeans started employing them to help with commercial operations in the 19th Century.

Isabella Reeves extracting DNA from Old Tom's skeleton at the Eden Killer Whale Museum. (Image credit: Eden Killer Whale Museum)

"We're pretty confident it had been going on for thousands of years," Reeves said. "But how it started is another question. I think what I've learned from killer whales is that they're curious, they can be strategic and when they want something, they know how to get it."

Some orca populations hunt baleen whales and feast on their tongues, but these orcas tend to target whale calves. Reeves noted that the orcas of Eden took down adults with the whalers, something they'd struggle to do alone.

Reeves said she's not sure people would believe the orcas of Eden story if it weren't for the "mind-blowing" photographic evidence from the time. "To imagine that happening now almost seems impossible," she said.

https://www.livescience.com/animals/orcas-that-hunted-alongside-humans-might-be-extinct

 

[Prov3nance]

This is good stuff, thanks!

 

[Pliny Pete]

I would rock the fuck out of a fish hat

 

[BearGrounds]

Accumulated knowledge. They're evolving, as we would call it (although that's not really the case). Environmental pressure forcing generational adaptation.

They're conscious enough to suffer greatly due to extended captivity. They can go mad, as can any creature, really. Just deny it it's mechanical satisfaction and it will suffer anxiety. Do it long enough and that's that. Folded fin.

They, along with dolphins and octopi, make me wonder how they'd fair in competition with us given a land based humanoid vehicle. They might actually outpace us significantly. They're clever AF.

 

[Fedorgasm]

Being susceptible to fads is not proof of intelligence. If anything, the reverse.

 

[Your Salad]

The story about the Orcas hunting with the native people is absolutely fascinating.
It reminds me how wolves and our ancestors evolved together.
I can only imagine what the relationship between man and (sea) beast off the coast of Australia could have been if not for the over harvesting of the whales by the Europeans.

Thanks for the great post!

 

[Adamant]

Sa la na a yuum iasis!

 

[Sweater of AV]

So I shouldn't be surprised to see orcas wearing all the Reebok pumps dumped in the ocean at some point?

 

[Roop Holstry]

I won’t be convinced that they are intelligent until I see them posting dances on TIKTOK to help free Palestine.

 

[Flower2dPeople]

Being susceptible to fads is not proof of intelligence. If anything, the reverse.

I've only seen whales get caught up in fads.

Spoiler

 

[Thrawn33]

I for one welcome our Orca Overlords.

 

[hahahayeah]

I don't understand why we haven't yet put an orca in an h20 respiratory space suit so they can finally see what the rest of the world has to offer. I, for one, would happily take an orca out to paint the town red (after someone accidently steps on his shoes and it goes berserk.)

 

[Pliny Pete]

Accumulated knowledge. They're evolving, as we would call it (although that's not really the case). Environmental pressure forcing generational adaptation.

They're conscious enough to suffer greatly due to extended captivity. They can go mad, as can any creature, really. Just deny it it's mechanical satisfaction and it will suffer anxiety. Do it long enough and that's that. Folded fin.

They, along with dolphins and octopi, make me wonder how they'd fair in competition with us given a land based humanoid vehicle. They might actually outpace us significantly. They're clever AF.

I aint losing to no fucking octopus

What are they gonna do, prank me by unscrewing all my jars?

Oh, that'll teach me

 

[TheNinja]

The story about the Orcas hunting with the native people is absolutely fascinating.
It reminds me how wolves and our ancestors evolved together.
I can only imagine what the relationship between man and (sea) beast off the coast of Australia could have been if not for the over harvesting of the whales by the Europeans.

Thanks for the great post!

Agreed. It shows the symbiotic relationship between different species that probably existed for 1000s of years before 1 of the species (humans) messed it all up. The Orcas were smart enough to be like "mah.....screw this....these people are real jerks!"

 

[Thrawn33]

Agreed. It shows the symbiotic relationship between different species that probably existed for 1000s of years before 1 of the species (humans) messed it all up. The Orcas were smart enough to be like "mah.....screw this....these people are real jerks!"

Blood sacrifices must be made to appease the Nautical Harbringers of JUST BLEED God. I will give an offering of my neighbors pomeranian.

 

[TheNinja]

I would rock the fuck out of a fish hat

Very stylish for sure!!

 

[LeonardoBjj]

I don't understand why we haven't yet put an orca in an h20 respiratory space suit so they can finally see what the rest of the world has to offer. I, for one, would happily take an orca out to paint the town red (after someone accidently steps on his shoes and it goes berserk.)

 

[hahahayeah]

Why is anything Mecha SO FOOKIN SWEET!?