FOLLOWING THE ORCAS

“Orca – neither whale nor killer”- Anonymous

Soon, I will have my new tattoo which will be dedicated to the beautiful black-white creature, orcas. The tattoo will be near my heart that is aching for the destiny of killer whales that are misunderstood and terrorised for years. If they are not killed for such of many irrational reasons, they are captivated and abused for human entertainment. Could you imagine that homo sapiens in all of its “glory of intelligence ” needs orcas to be there in water circus? Yes, that is our world, full of dead players that think they can misuse animals for its own free time joy. That is beyond sickness and arrogance, that is the end of any compassion and evolution level of human being.

How can we hope we can save the world from the coming end if we didnt reach the last mechanism of control of our own egoism and greed? Whoever can be happy watching amazing animals being closed and trained for so called entertainment industry is mentally disabled person him/herself and as such, risk for healthy society.

Maybe we need aggressive educational approach to all levels so we can hope we can revise the foundations of our modern circle of life. Just maybe, if any of you would know what are orcas and the story behind them, you would don’t give up and keep fighting for those majestic fellows to be wild and free as they deserve. Thats why I am here, to open you the book about the killer whales, that aren’t killers and aren’t whales at all. Thats why I will talk about them and for them because I am tied to the ocean and my heart is echoing their vocals.

Orcas (Orcinus orca) are actually the marine mammals that are not typical whales but belong to the sub-order of toothed whales and they are known to be the largest members of the dolphin family. This doesn’t surprise because the males are bigger than females and the biggest orca ever recorded was 32 feet long ( 9,8 meters) and weighed almost 22,000 lbs ( 10,000 kg). When the baby orca is born, could be long about 8,5 ft which tells us all about the size and volume of those ocean residents. At the beginning of mamas biology, they have been considered as more dangerous than sharks and the first explorers named them as killer whales since they have noted how powerful is their hunting strategy even against bigger whales and sharks.

They are so alluring with their black and white presence and they are remarkable animals that are known to be the one of the best and fastest swimmers. Their ability to dance in ocean, to be playful and also fierce turn them into admirable creatures pf the sea. They remind me sometimes of the army of God Poseidon, ruling the depth of the seas and controlling the whales. Nevertheless, we shouldn’t forget that they are apex predators and on the top of the ocean food chain.

There are many ongoing studies about their hunting logic. Andrew Foote did a lot in the area of killer whale genetic research and concluded that humans and orcas share the ability for culture-based evolution. Basically, in his book from 2016, he shared the ideas that different group of orcas will have different hunting techniques, which is caused by difference in genomes. On the other side, SeaWorld reports the following:“Orcas use many different techniques to catch prey. Sometimes they beach themselves to catch seals on land, jumping from the water onto land. Orcas will also work together to catch larger prey or groups of prey, such as schools of fish, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN). They can use echolocation to identify their prey by creating sounds, or sound waves, that travel through the water. These waves echo off objects, including prey, which the orcas can use to locate them. “

Regarding the conflicts with humans, there is no record of an orca killing intentionally a human, that is not part of their diet and food circulation. The main problem is that an orca may mistake a human for something they follow as a prey ( seal ). There is a story from Norway when it was surfing competition and the orca chased the surfer but realised, at the last moment, fortunately, that surfer is not a seal. The attacks on boats are not so rare and there have been some incidents during the sailing season in Portugal and Spain. The scientists believe that young orca males like to play and don’t consider the consequences.

The orcas build their pods which is a special form of their group organization. It could have up to 50 members and there are usually mothers with their offsprings, so called matrilines. As we know, after the pregnancy that takes up to 17 month, the mother is taking care of her calf in the period of 2-3 years and then the young orca is ready to be independent. Those pods have their own calls, dialects and sometimes they merge with bigger groups to reach the goal. It is interesting but each pod has its own dialect which is funny to compare with different accent of English ( British, American, South African, etc.)

The orca females go through the menopause just like women. That is so done so the pods could be free from inbreeding and focusing the more on the kids of life, nursing and educating the grandchildren.

The orcas could be found all over our planet. They could be found in freezing waters or warm seas and even in the freshwater rivers. One orca has been spotted to swim more than 100 miles up to Columbia River in Oregon to chase the fish. It seems optimistic that they are almost everywhere but they are really endangered due to the illegal hunting and trade.

One interesting fact about them is that they cannot smell:“Orcas do not have an olfactory system, which means they likely do not have a sense of smell. While this may seem like a handicap, it actually makes a lot of sense. Unlike sharks, which use smell to track down prey, the orca uses its keen hearing to practice echolocation—producing sounds and listening for echoes to tell if there are objects or animals in their surroundings.The absence of this smelling system is present in all dolphins and most toothed whales, so orcas are not alone in this deficiency.“

At the top the tale about the black-white ocean rulers is the information that the white sharks are scared from orcas. There where the orca pods are and accidentally the sharks, you will see sharks that are swimming away. I guess that orcas are bullying them enough away from the prey but it is good to know that sharks do have fear from powerful orcas. This is the natural based harmony, without impact of humans. That is the tool of the ecosystem and control one species through the another one.

The orcas are brilliant mammals that challenge the human understanding of wildlife and ocean biology. They are showing us the ability to adapt and to survive and also to develop at every stage a little bit. Their beauty and intelligence are fatal combination and that is the reason for me being deep amazed by them and honestly, connected to them….into the sea, into the ocean.