The Insane Biology of: The Orca

I will never get over the fact that baby whales babble just like human babies and end up learning the language of their pods

I once paddled alone by a pod of transient orcas. A big male split off from the pod and swam up to me. He seemed to be looking me over. It was uncanny and very scary. After what seemed like a very long "minute" he turned and splashed me, and his aim was perfect, the jet of water hit me directly in my face. I got the distinct impression that he wanted me to leave the area. (I was told later by a Haida watchman that they were hunting seals.) I had to laugh, after I got splashed, I was so relieved that he just saw fit to splash me rather than something much worse. I really could tell by his body movements that he was not being friendly. That was the only time I've ever been in the power of a creature that could have eaten me for lunch, and he decided to warn me rather than harm me. It was an experience I will never forget.

Think about it... the animal we call "killer", the apex predator of the sea that even goes after sharks and whales, the predator so intelligent it develops shockingly scary and precice hunting techniques is the one animal that might be closer to us in intelligence and emotional development than any other. Says a lot about us, doesn't it? No wonder they literally go insane in captivity. They're bored to death.

Something I've never seen anyone mention before, so I thought I'd throw it in. Since we've gotten more "In Tune" with these Orca for a very long time, and anytime one beaches themselves on accident, if there's a Human around, we usually always try to save it, and get it back in the water, where the rest of the family is waiting. The pod can see this a lot of the time. Not only that, but the stranded Orca can obviously tell, as more and more people come to rescue the Orca, that we are a family as well, and work together. In those cases, to help save their lives, and get them back home. Since they are so intelligent, I don't think it's far fetched to think that Orca, both the stranded, and the families of the stranded, communicate that the "Things" that move on 2 feet on land, just helped save a life, to not only each other, but other Orca as well. It's not crazy to think, that pods have communicated this with other pods, where one of them were also saved by humans. They also share "Spindle Cells" with us. There are only a few other animals on the planet that do. Elephants, Gorillas, and Whales I know for sure do. I think they are just as curious about us, as we are of them.

The fact that baby orcas have to learn their language shows how intelligent these beings are

the fact that whales/dolphins can legally just be kept at places like Seaworld is just insane given just the information in this video.

I think the reason a lot of people don't realize how insanely powerful and savage this incredible animal is the fact that it doesn't attack humans in the wild (along with the fact that it looks and sounds very cute). It makes for a sort of a surprising juxtaposition. Savage, powerful predators like wolves and bears almost invariably instill fear into our hearts in a way orcas don't despite the latter's unbelievable success and dominance over their environments.

“What do you guys want for dinner?” “Chinook salmon, chinook salmon!!!” “We’ve had that consecutively for the past fifty years!” “And?” “Yeah, you’re right”

The fact that they actually practice that beaching thing is so crazy to me. I thought they just tested it themselves and if they died, they died.

One of the coolest things to me about orcas that the video doesn’t mention is that there has never been a recorded human death from a wild orca. But orcas have been recorded and seen leading humans towards pods of whales to hunt. They might see humans as a potential symbiotic relationship since they’re known to eat human leftovers from whaling or snag stray fish when fishermen use nets. Just super cool that they easily could attack and kill humans but seemingly have no interest in doing so

J35 Tahlequah, a Southern Resident orca from the Pacific Northwest, gained global attention when she was seen carrying her deceased calf for a remarkable 17 days. The female calf passed away shortly after birth and was named Tali posthumously. Tahlequah's unwavering determination to hold onto her calf was only relinquished when, sadly, the calf began to disintegrate. This heartbreaking display of grief resonated with countless individuals worldwide. Southern Resident orcas remain with their mothers for their entire lifespan. Nowadays, Tahlequah is a devoted mother to her two sons - J47 Notch and J57 Phoenix. Following the losses of her mother, J17 Princess Angeline, and sister, J28 Polaris, Tahlequah assumed the role of "guardian" for her brother, J44 Moby, sister J53 Kiki, and niece J46 Star.

Knowing all this, it makes it even more heartbreaking to think of the orcas that were captured from the wild to be put in aquariums. They can’t communicate with each other and it ends up in enslavement of an intelligent species strictly for entertainment purposes.

I love how many animals that are completely unrelated to each other, multiple times throughout life decided that if they scream loud enough, they can kind of see but not really

What a dream it would be to be able to actually communicate to orcas at some point. Communicating with other intelligent species is so huge

Fun Fact: Flocks of wild parrots have also been found to speak different languages. Flocks that live near each other speak different dialects of the same language, and flocks from different areas speak completely different languages, despite being the same species. Animals have always been talking to each other. We just need to learn to listen.

21:00 orca bonk. 😂 and you can almost see it laughing afterwards. I love these creatures

13:13 This is probably why Keiko wasn't able to reconnect properly with any wild orcas. He was captured as a two year old calf, thus, he had the vocabulary equivilent to a two year old human baby. They couldn't understand him and thus wanted nothing to do with him.

I remember one of the Shark Week episodes on DIscovery from a few years ago. They were, of course, focused on the sharks, but part of the story was the arrival of dolphins to the hunting grounds in the waters of South Africa. The 2 groups largely left each other alone. One morning, the researchers observed the sharks AND the dolphins all heading out in the same direction. The researchers knew immediately what was causing it: the only thing that would make both groups, white sharks and dolphins, flee in the same direction is a pod of orcas.

Every time I learn something new about Orcas, it blows my mind. Such incredible, beautiful creatures. It's so hard to justify keeping them in captivity. Their level of knowledge really feels unprecedented. I have a hard time justifying keeping any animals in captivity. Specifically for things like zoos. Pets are different, since they're more family than entertainment. Either way, orcas are very much my favorite animal. Incredible, incredible creatures.

Even the markings of an orca are so clever. The black to blend in with the waves and the white to look like giant eyes. It’s insane.