Killer whale shares food with gulls at the Vancouver Public Aquarium

Abstract A 6‐ to 9‐year‐old female killer whale ( Orcinus orca ) was observed sharing food with gulls at the Vancouver Public Aquarium. Hypotheses regarding the origin of this apparently learned behavior are discussed and evaluated. The behavior can be explained by an operant model, but there is evi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Zoo Biology
Main Authors: Nordquist, Charles, Hutchins, Michael
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 1985
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/zoo.1430040407
https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fzoo.1430040407
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/zoo.1430040407
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Summary:Abstract A 6‐ to 9‐year‐old female killer whale ( Orcinus orca ) was observed sharing food with gulls at the Vancouver Public Aquarium. Hypotheses regarding the origin of this apparently learned behavior are discussed and evaluated. The behavior can be explained by an operant model, but there is evidence that social mimicry or observational learning may also be involved.