Adult “killer whales” or orcas have been filmed actively teaching their young calves how to hunt seals. A film clip shows four adults and three youngsters circling a tiny chunk of ice in western Antarctica’s Marguerite Bay. A seal was lying on the ice trying to avoid the orcas.
The lesson lasted over an hour. "The biggest surprise was the careful, measured way in which the females kept the seal corralled close to the piece of ice without fatally injuring it, so that it would climb back out onto the ice," Leigh Hickmott, a whale biologist and advisor for the show, said.
Female orcas were apparently the teachers. In the same lesson, they demonstrated for the calves several approaches on how to get to the seal. The hunting techniques included wave washing, tipping the ice, blowing bubbles to flush out the seal from under the ice, and grabbing the seal by its hind flippers to avoid being bitten.
The footage from the film shows a female orca pulling a seal off the ice by its tail, the calves watching and learning from her. The mother then lets the seal go so it can return to the ice. Then the calves take turns practicing the technique several times.
Orcas are very intelligent and social predators. They live in family pods and hunt in packs. They are one of the few species known to actively teach their young different skills which can result in innovative new behaviors.
The “wave washing” hunting technique involves the pod working together to create large waves that can knock seals off the ice into the water where they are easier for the orcas to catch. Hickmott said the lesson shows how orcas can transmit knowledge and how they can solve complex problems through teamwork.
"Remembering past experiences and honing techniques builds their effectiveness as predators and that by regularly allowing young inquisitive calves to participate in order to learn, they strengthen the pod's future capabilities and likelihood of survival," Hickmott added.
The orcas were filmed for the new show “Nature: Expedition Killer Whale,” which will premiere on Wednesday, February 12 on PBS, pbs.org/nature, YouTube and the PBS App.
Comments: Many young animals learn valuable lessons from their parents by watching them, but to realize that mother killer whales actively teach their youngsters, and more than one technique in a single lesson at that, is especially impressive.
God seems to have well designed the young of every species by giving them inherited knowledge or with wise parents capable of teaching them how to survive and to eventually produce offspring of their own. Could all the various methods of procreation and survival into adulthood all be products of natural processes or does divine creation make more sense? Could baby orcas have survived before female orcas evolved the knowledge of how to teach their calves how to hunt?
For human children and their spiritual needs, parents have available several methods for helping them along the path to becoming strong adult Christians. Introducing the youngsters to the Bible via Bible stories is a good beginning. Taking them to God’s house on a regular basis can create a habit that many of them will not depart from. Parents living a Christian life can be a good example for children to copy. After all, we not only want to provide them food for their stomachs but food that will help them to love Jesus Christ and to want to follow Him to our heavenly home. So, parents, learn from the orcas. Teach your children necessary lessons.
“Dedicate a child to the way he should go, and even when he becomes old, he will not turn away from it.” (Proverbs 22:6, EHV).
By Warren Krug
Reference: Hannah Osborne, “Orcas off Antarctica filmed teaching calves to hunt in incredible new footage,” Live Science [February 7, 2025]. (A film clip is available on this Live Science site.)
**************************************
Want to be automatically notified each time there is a new post? Just email your request to wkrug@lutheranscience.org.
****************************************
QUESTION OF THE DAY
What is the disorder known as SAD?
SAD is a seasonal affective disorder common in autumn and winter involving a type of depression caused by reductions in the amount of daylight. It can be characterized by irritability, sleepiness, fatigue, concentration problems, and weight gain due to overeating.
Source: Richard S. Lang, M.D., M.P.H.,F.A.C.P, “Ask Dr. Lang,” Cleveland Clinic Men’s Health Advisor [December, 2024], page 8.
****************************************
NOTE ON VISITOR COMMENTS: Visitor comments are invited including those containing alternate views. However, comments containing profanity, personal attacks or advertisements will not be published. After posting a comment, please allow several hours for it to appear on the blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment