8/30/2023 0 Comments Blue whale vs killer whale size![]() ![]() Like the attack in March, an adult female orca put her head into the blue whale’s mouth and fed on its tongue. But when it tried to breathe at the surface, the orcas “swam up on its head and blowhole.” When the calf tried to dive, they pushed it to the surface. The orcas were seen taking turns striking in groups of five or six, while around 10 to 15 orcas remained on the periphery. Orcas killed a blue whale calf in a second attack observed at noon on April 6, 2019. When the whale finally started to sink, a sign of its death, a total of around 50 orcas joined to feed on the fresh kill. “While it was still alive,” the paper explained, “an adult female killer whale put its head inside the blue whale’s mouth and began feeding on its tongue.” The orcas teamed up to ram its flank and force it underwater. It was “bleeding profusely” and growing weaker. ![]() Chunks of blubber and skin, as well as most of its dorsal fin, had been bitten off, leaving “underlying bone exposed.”Īfter about 20 minutes, observers noticed the whale slowed and started swimming in circles. The attacks were observed from commercial whale-watching vessels.Ībout a dozen orcas were witnessed attacking a blue whale, estimated to be 18 to 22 metres long, on the morning of March 21, 2019. Three attacks since 2019 were recorded off the coast of Australia, in Bremer Bay, and were outlined in a report in Marine Mammal Science. And it was presumed to be a female orca, involved in all of the attacks, who first feasted on the whale’s tongue. The recent attacks demonstrate that female-led efforts could be successful. It was previously thought that in order to take down a blue whale, male orcas had to actively participate. The findings of the paper are also crucial in understanding orca dynamics. Manage Print Subscription / Tax Receipt. ![]()
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