Killer whale harrassment of Adélie penguins at Ross Island

On innumerable occasions, Adélie ( Pygoscelis adeliae ) and emperor penguins ( Aptenodytes forsteri ) have been observed in close proximity to killer whales ( Orcinus orca ), with no whale-penguin interactions reported. On the other hand, killer whales reportedly harass and eat seabirds on occasion...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antarctic Science
Main Authors: BALLARD, GRANT, AINLEY, DAVID G.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2005
Subjects:
Geology
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Oceanography
Ross Island
Bouvier
Antarctic Science
Aptenodytes forsteri
Emperor penguins
Killer Whale
King Penguins
Orca
Orcinus orca
Pygoscelis adeliae
Killer whale
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102005002828
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102005002828
Description
Summary:On innumerable occasions, Adélie ( Pygoscelis adeliae ) and emperor penguins ( Aptenodytes forsteri ) have been observed in close proximity to killer whales ( Orcinus orca ), with no whale-penguin interactions reported. On the other hand, killer whales reportedly harass and eat seabirds on occasion (Walker 1968: p. 1122, Stacey et al. 1990, Williams et al. 1990). Killer whales are known to prey on young king penguins ( A. patagonica ) as they are fledging (Guinet 1992, Guinet & Bouvier 1995) and occasionally take emperor penguins (Mikhalev et al. 1981). Thomas et al. (1981) report killer whales chasing Adélies. Here we report the only observations of Adélie-killer whale interactions observed in nine field seasons on Ross Island.

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