this post was submitted on 29 Nov 2023
55 points (100.0% liked)

science

20847 readers
349 users here now

A community to post scientific articles, news, and civil discussion.

rule #1: be kind

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
m3t00@lemmy.world
Joleee@lemmy.world
laverabe@lemmy.world
DeadPand@midwest.social
laverabe@lemmy.zip
55
Killer Whale Conundrum: Why Are Orcas Harassing and Killing Porpoises Without Eating Them? (scitechdaily.com)
submitted 2 years ago by Bebo@literature.cafe to c/science@lemmy.world
5 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

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

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] tacosanonymous@lemm.ee 12 points 2 years ago

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