Killer whales ( Orcinus orca ) attack and kill a Bryde's whale ( Balaenoptera edeni )
On 3 May 1988, we observed a group of killer whales that pursued, killed, and partially consumed a Bryde's whale in the northern Gulf of California, Mexico (31°01′N, 114°15′W). The attack was observed from 06:54 to 08:53 while circling in a single-engine aircraft at an altitude of 160 m. The gr...
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z90-238 2023-12-17T10:48:14+01:00 Killer whales ( Orcinus orca ) attack and kill a Bryde's whale ( Balaenoptera edeni ) Silber, Gregory K. Newcomer, Michael W. M., Héctor Pérez-Cortés 1990 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z90-238 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z90-238 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 68, issue 7, page 1603-1606 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 1990 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z90-238 2023-11-19T13:38:33Z On 3 May 1988, we observed a group of killer whales that pursued, killed, and partially consumed a Bryde's whale in the northern Gulf of California, Mexico (31°01′N, 114°15′W). The attack was observed from 06:54 to 08:53 while circling in a single-engine aircraft at an altitude of 160 m. The group comprised about 15 killer whales, including two adult males and at least two calves. Females and (or) subadult males pressed the attack most intently. The killer whales tore skin and blubber from the right flank of the Bryde's whale, and on 11 occasions the killer whales swam onto the head or back of the Bryde's whale, which hindered its breathing. The respiration intervals of the Bryde's whale were short and irregular, and blow rates differed significantly from those of undisturbed Bryde's whales. Fatiguing the whale may have facilitated an easier kill by asphyxiation. After the death of the Bryde's whale, the two adult male killer whales surfaced slowly about 200–300 m away from the remainder of the group, which presumably fed on the submerged Bryde's whale carcass. Two days later, the drifting Bryde's whale carcass was located. A large wound was visible on the abdomen, and sections of the lower jaw had been removed. Like those of canids and some felids that hunt cooperatively when preying on ungulates, attacks by Orcinus orca exhibit coordination of activities and efficiency in dispatching prey. Article in Journal/Newspaper Orca Orcinus orca Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) Canadian Journal of Zoology 68 7 1603 1606 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Silber, Gregory K. Newcomer, Michael W. M., Héctor Pérez-Cortés Killer whales ( Orcinus orca ) attack and kill a Bryde's whale ( Balaenoptera edeni ) |
topic_facet |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
On 3 May 1988, we observed a group of killer whales that pursued, killed, and partially consumed a Bryde's whale in the northern Gulf of California, Mexico (31°01′N, 114°15′W). The attack was observed from 06:54 to 08:53 while circling in a single-engine aircraft at an altitude of 160 m. The group comprised about 15 killer whales, including two adult males and at least two calves. Females and (or) subadult males pressed the attack most intently. The killer whales tore skin and blubber from the right flank of the Bryde's whale, and on 11 occasions the killer whales swam onto the head or back of the Bryde's whale, which hindered its breathing. The respiration intervals of the Bryde's whale were short and irregular, and blow rates differed significantly from those of undisturbed Bryde's whales. Fatiguing the whale may have facilitated an easier kill by asphyxiation. After the death of the Bryde's whale, the two adult male killer whales surfaced slowly about 200–300 m away from the remainder of the group, which presumably fed on the submerged Bryde's whale carcass. Two days later, the drifting Bryde's whale carcass was located. A large wound was visible on the abdomen, and sections of the lower jaw had been removed. Like those of canids and some felids that hunt cooperatively when preying on ungulates, attacks by Orcinus orca exhibit coordination of activities and efficiency in dispatching prey. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Silber, Gregory K. Newcomer, Michael W. M., Héctor Pérez-Cortés |
author_facet |
Silber, Gregory K. Newcomer, Michael W. M., Héctor Pérez-Cortés |
author_sort |
Silber, Gregory K. |
title |
Killer whales ( Orcinus orca ) attack and kill a Bryde's whale ( Balaenoptera edeni ) |
title_short |
Killer whales ( Orcinus orca ) attack and kill a Bryde's whale ( Balaenoptera edeni ) |
title_full |
Killer whales ( Orcinus orca ) attack and kill a Bryde's whale ( Balaenoptera edeni ) |
title_fullStr |
Killer whales ( Orcinus orca ) attack and kill a Bryde's whale ( Balaenoptera edeni ) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Killer whales ( Orcinus orca ) attack and kill a Bryde's whale ( Balaenoptera edeni ) |
title_sort |
killer whales ( orcinus orca ) attack and kill a bryde's whale ( balaenoptera edeni ) |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1990 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z90-238 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z90-238 |
genre |
Orca Orcinus orca |
genre_facet |
Orca Orcinus orca |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 68, issue 7, page 1603-1606 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z90-238 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
68 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
1603 |
op_container_end_page |
1606 |
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1785572363391205376 |