When you think of top ocean predators, you probably think of sharks. Great white sharks, to be exact. But the true ruler of the sea is the killer whale. Killer whales are apex predators, which means they have no natural predators.
It's pretty much common wisdom that the top predator in the ocean is the great white shark (that is, if there isn't a remnant population of megalodon hidden somewhere in the deep).
Pollution. Both natural toxins and human-made toxins can harm killer whales. Chemicals that are used on land enter waterways through runoff and eventually end up in the oceans as pollution. and other coastal industrial development.
What do orcas eat? Orcas are apex predators, at the top of the food chain. No animals hunt orcas (except for humans). Killer whales feed on many different types of prey, including fish, seals, sea birds and squid.
"This kind of association between one species and its apparent predator is unusual." It turns out the dolphins have nothing to fear from these particular killer whales, also known as orcas.
In conclusion, orca whales are not generally considered dangerous to humans. These intelligent, social creatures are generally not aggressive towards humans and have a diverse diet that does not include human prey.
There are a few theories about why orcas don't attack humans in the wild, but they generally come down to the idea that orcas are fussy eaters and only tend to sample what their mothers teach them is safe. Since humans would never have qualified as a reliable food source, our species was never sampled.
Shamu /ʃæmuː/ (unknown – August 16, 1971) was a female orca captured in October 1965 from a southern resident pod. She was sold to SeaWorld San Diego and became a star attraction. Shamu was the fourth orca ever captured, and the second female. She died in August 1971, after about six years of captivity.
In the battle between a megalodon and an orca pod, the orcas would have the advantage.
Great white sharks, to be exact. But the true ruler of the sea is the killer whale. Killer whales are apex predators, which means they have no natural predators. They hunt in packs, much like wolves, which are also at the top of their food chain.
“The humpback whale is, to our knowledge, the only cetacean that deliberately approaches attacking mammal-eating killer whales and can drive them off,” said Dr Robert Pitman, a marine ecologist and report co-author.
Generally, a shark isn't going to be a real threat to a full-grown orca, even a great white. As such, the only reason that orcas hunt sharks is to eat them. What makes things interesting is that many of the great white sharks that orcas are killing are totally intact.
Is it safe to swim or dive with Orcas? Yes, however, you have to be very cautious, because they are still wild animals and need attention all the time. Orcas owe their name “killer whale” to the early whalers Because they apparently attacked and killed all other animals, even the largest whales.
The whales seem to understand people, and are eager to cooperate and create bonds. In fact, the only apparent instances of orcas attacking people have happened at aquatic parks, where the whales have killed trainers. Many experts think these attacks are not malicious, rather a case of play getting out of hand.
PUBLISHED: November 30, 2006 at 2:17 a.m. | UPDATED: May 7, 2016 at 11:28 p.m. San Diego – Shamu the killer whale injured a trainer during a show at SeaWorld Adventure Park by grabbing his foot and pulling him underwater twice, authorities said.
The constant stress and deprivation of captivity drove him to kill three humans, including trainer Dawn Brancheau. As is typical of animals at SeaWorld, he deteriorated both mentally and physically. Shortly after the release of Blackfish, he died after 33 years in captivity.
Original Shamu
In October 1965, a female juvenile orca was captured from the southern resident pod in Penn Cove, Puget Sound, Washington by Ted Griffin.
What do orcas eat? Looking at all populations, orcas are generalist eaters, consuming fish, seals and sea lions, dolphins and porpoises, sharks and rays, large whales, cephalopods (octopods and squids), seabirds and more.
'One of the best whale meats I've ever tasted'
“It doesn't have the same fishy taste that other whale meats. I think it's one of the best whale meats I've tasted ever,” says Below. He says the muktak prized by Inuit also is tasty. He describes it as somewhere in between the fin whale, minke whale and narwhal.
If you see an orca, Natoli said, you should keep a distance of about 50 to 100 meters (164 to 328 feet) and turn off your engine or, at the very least, slow down. "Try not to approach them from the back or from the front. Stay on their side instead," Natoli told the Khaleej Times.
Toni Frohoff, research director at TerraMar Research, is confident that orcas are not dumb animals. "If anything, since orcas are the largest member of the dolphin family, their intelligence is perhaps superior to other dolphins," she told me.
Well, it turns out they do. And they fear this black-and-white terror so much it's driving them away from what used to be some of their favorite spots.
Even up until the 1970s US Navy diving manuals described the orca as 'extremely ferocious', warning that they will 'attack human beings at every opportunity'. This is nonsense. There is no known record of an attack on humans in the wild.