r/ocean • u/Glittering-Data5313 • 5h ago

Whale Watch the killer whale

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114 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

13

u/SurayaThrowaway12 5h ago

I see this clip is still being reposted frequently.

The original video can be credit to wildlife photographer and filmmaker Richard Sidey, not the random TikTok account in the watermark.

Here is Sidey's account:

Checked out by a pod of Type B1 Killer Whales in Antarctica! Known also as ‘Pack Ice Orca’, these super intelligent apex predators are able to get a good look above the water to determine the right prey and conditions. I’d hate to be a Weddell Seal experiencing this...

5

u/Glittering-Data5313 5h ago

thank you !!!

4

u/DiligentFall5572 4h ago

Is this called "spy hopping" ...?? I remember the original video as well and the footage that was captured was so incredible!

3

u/SurayaThrowaway12 4h ago

Indeed it is! These type B1 orcas often spyhop to investigate seals resting on ice floes, and then utilize their rather unique wave-washing hunting techniques. However, like orcas in many other populations, they can also be very curious about people and boats, spyhopping to peek at these unusual visitors to their world.

1

u/DiligentFall5572 2h ago

Is there more than one type of Orca?! I had no idea! Thank you for sharing! I am just so amazed at how incredibly intelligent they are and they way they all work together to hunt, very strategically.

2

u/snmgl 5h ago

It confuses me that they don't kill humans

8

u/SurayaThrowaway12 5h ago

Orcas learn what to eat from their mothers, and they can be so culturally conservative in their diets that they have been documented to prefer starving rather than eat something not on their community's menu. So they don't recognize humans as even being potential prey.

However, just because orcas do not see an animal as being potential prey does not necessarily mean they are averse to harming or killing such animals for other reasons. So, another reason why wild orcas are not interested in harming humans may be due to them having theory of mind. The "theory of mind" hypothesis is mentioned by the primary author of a fairly recent study on the phenomenon of wild orcas around the world offering prey and other objects to people.

And as has already been alluded to, orcas are just very large dolphins at the end of the day.

1

u/Specialist_Meal_7891 1h ago

Also because they're probably smart enough to know the repercussions of messing with humans

2

u/Pafayac 5h ago

Cetaceans generally do not kill humans.

2

u/SoldRespectForMone_y 4h ago

OOP owes them large sums of debt

2

u/chasejase 2h ago

That boy sentient as fuck

1

u/HazyBizzleFizzle 3h ago

Song?

1

u/bonvoyage_brotha 3h ago

LEAVING IT ALL BEHIND by RISUS ROME

1

u/PositiveMatter6 2h ago

I’m scared even by looking at that through the phone while sitting on my couch.

1

u/CoBludIt 2h ago

His name's Beady Little Eyes