BBC Earth
5 HN mentions · mentioned in 4 months, 2017–2021
4:52 · 2.8M views · Aug 24, 2017
BBC Earth shows killer whales working as a pod to create waves that wash seals off ice floes, with the producer explaining how the crew captured behavior once thought a myth.
Cited as a striking example of coordinated hunting and intelligence in orcas.
5 comments from Hacker News
On one of the Planet Earth's (IIRC) they showed a seal on a floating slab of ice and the orcas would slap their tails and bump the ice to get the seal to slide off, the seal wore itself out and they eventually drug it into the depths. They're uncanny smart hunters. I wonder if it was curious about you being food and trying a tactic like that? Or just curious in general and indifferent to whether you survived that curiosity? edit: the below comment linked a video which then linked to a producer explaining the exact moment I was referring to this video
> Orcas working in teams to knock seals off an iceberg with waves: this video At the end of that clip, she gets so excited about seeing something that "no one had seen before", yet at the beginning, she talks about them hoping to see this because of reports of it happening. Huh? Contradict yourself much? I hate these overly dramatic reality type documentaries. Otherwise, some great footage, and could have been so much better without the overly produced interview.
Orca gang together to generate large waves in unison to wash off waiting penguins and seals from ice floes: this video . Likely they do other premeditated hunting too. A recent discussion of grandmothers show we also share menopause with Orca (and pilot whales, who also hunt in groups and also very closely related to Orca) so it might be these are the only other species that come close to us, culturally.
The matriarch whistles and the pod causes waves to knock seals off of the ice. The hungriest of the pod waits on the other side and grabs them. Then then share the food with each other. This level of coordination is pretty much unheard of in nature. Even dogs aren't this intelligent. Their level of intelligence is somewhat terrifying if you think about it. this video And better (but long): [LINK]
Orcas working in teams to knock seals off an iceberg with waves: this video So what can we conclude? Super smart, organized and no love for other mammals. I am amazed they only seem to go after humans in the sea world type scenario (film: Blackfish, shows the madness it induces in such animals). I don’t know of any attacks on surfers. Which seems odd. They would be so scary to swim near.