A group of orcas seem to free a whale from a rope off the coast of western Australia. Was they really trying to save it?
It's not clear if the orcas were trying to manipulate the rope or why they approached the whale in the first place. Observers with Whale Watch Western Australia thought the orcas might attack the hobbled whale.
Humpback whales have been brutally attacked by orcas before. As pack hunters, orcas can take down larger prey than themselves, though they typically target yearlings and calves. Orcas try to drown whales by grabbing their flippers and turning them over.
The Humpback whale escaped unscathed on Jan. 10, according to a description accompanying their video footage.
They wrote that it was the first time they had observed an interaction between orcas and a whale.
The author of the book Orca: The Whale Called Killer said it's not clear why the orcas didn't attack the Humpback.
"It could be that the orcas' summer diet is different and the whales are out of season, which would be a different hunting and feeding operation, a different food."
It could be that the orcas have just eaten or are in the middle of some other behavior, or that the entanglement might have put them off.
The whale-watchers were almost altruistic.
There is no way to know if orcas feel a sense of altruism for their fellow sea creatures.
An off-season game.
Humpbacks feed on krill in the summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Humpback whales migrate northward from the Australian coast to their breeding grounds in the southern hemisphere in September and November, according to the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water, and the Environment.
It was a surprise to see the whale in the bay in January.
The watchers on the boat realized that the whale was in bad shape. It was covered with sea lice, parasites that feed on the blood and skin of fish and whales.
There was rope around the whale's tail. It was certain that the whale would be looking for the orcas.
The whale defended itself by lashing out with its fins.
According to Whale Watch Western Australia, the matriarch of the orca Pod, nicknamed Queen, approached in a great flurry of splashing and white water.
A large chunk of the rope binding the whale's fluke was floating away when the water cleared. The orcas swam in the opposite direction of the whale to the surprise of the whale watchers.
Rescue by orca?
The whale watch crew wrote in their video description that the Orca freed the whale from most of the rope before letting him swim away.
It's not easy to answer that question. He told Live Science that whales are familiar with fishing gear. It's possible that the orcas grabbed the line. It's not possible to say if they intended to untangle the whale.
The whale-watching boat was circled by the whale after the encounter. According to the whale-watching team, the orcas spent the rest of their day harassing sunfish.
The observation shows how difficult it can be to understand the feelings of marine mammals.
The range of behavior by whales at sea is complex and varies depending on many factors. It's hard to see behavior.
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The article was published by Live Science. The original article can be found here.
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