Orca "killer whale" conversations

[Cooky]

My wife was telling me that on Nat Geo wild, they were explaining how orcas have been filmed killing great whites and extracting their livers, by grabbing the shark and turning it upside down, putting it in a trance state, and then dragging the shark down until it suffocates and then extracting only the nutrient-rich liver and leaving the rest.

Apparently, the Orcas are are able to explain to other orcas, in detail, that by flipping sharks upside down, they become vulnerable. Orcas must literally have meetings, where they say: "hey, go over there and flip that shark upside down and drag him down at least 200 ft. For about 15 minutes, then bite under his right fin and extract the organ just beneath the heart."

...I mean, how else could orcas know to flip it upside down and all the other details?

 

[Cooky]

In any case, orcas can kill sharks so easily, it's not even funny. By simply flipping them upside down. They're so easy to kill, orcas do it for a snack when they're not even really hungry.

Orcas must view sharks as stupid and worthless.

 

[Martin]

Whales are apparently quite intelligent, and they've been around a long long time. Presumably there's quite a lot of trial and error involved in learning these behaviours?

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

..I mean, how else could orcas know to flip it upside down and all the other details?

Some genius Orca figures out how to kill great whites. Other Orcas observe the genius doing so, and realize they can also do that...doesn't require communication, just observation...

That said, I agree that Orcas have some sort of language for communicating...

 

[The Hammer]

My wife was telling me that on Nat Geo wild, they were explaining how orcas have been filmed killing great whites and extracting their livers, by grabbing the shark and turning it upside down, putting it in a trance state, and then dragging the shark down until it suffocates and then extracting only the nutrient-rich liver and leaving the rest.

Apparently, the Orcas are are able to explain to other orcas, in detail, that by flipping sharks upside down, they become vulnerable. Orcas must literally have meetings, where they say: "hey, go over there and flip that shark upside down and drag him down at least 200 ft. For about 15 minutes, then bite under his right fin and extract the organ just beneath the heart."

...I mean, how else could orcas know to flip it upside down and all the other details?

Probably, through something like "monkey see, monkey do". We are finding that a lot of animals have what are called "mirror neurons" in their brains (humans have a ton of them, specifically), that allows them to watch and copy the behaviors of others, I would assume that this knowledge is passed on in a similar fashion.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-dogs-have-mirror-neurons/

 

[leov]

My wife was telling me that on Nat Geo wild, they were explaining how orcas have been filmed killing great whites and extracting their livers, by grabbing the shark and turning it upside down, putting it in a trance state, and then dragging the shark down until it suffocates and then extracting only the nutrient-rich liver and leaving the rest.

Apparently, the Orcas are are able to explain to other orcas, in detail, that by flipping sharks upside down, they become vulnerable. Orcas must literally have meetings, where they say: "hey, go over there and flip that shark upside down and drag him down at least 200 ft. For about 15 minutes, then bite under his right fin and extract the organ just beneath the heart."

...I mean, how else could orcas know to flip it upside down and all the other details?

Dolphins gain unprecedented protection in India | DW | 24.05.2013

 

[ChristineM]

My wife was telling me that on Nat Geo wild, they were explaining how orcas have been filmed killing great whites and extracting their livers, by grabbing the shark and turning it upside down, putting it in a trance state, and then dragging the shark down until it suffocates and then extracting only the nutrient-rich liver and leaving the rest.

Apparently, the Orcas are are able to explain to other orcas, in detail, that by flipping sharks upside down, they become vulnerable. Orcas must literally have meetings, where they say: "hey, go over there and flip that shark upside down and drag him down at least 200 ft. For about 15 minutes, then bite under his right fin and extract the organ just beneath the heart."

...I mean, how else could orcas know to flip it upside down and all the other details?

I see nothing odd in this, many animals communicate, particularly family's or hives, those who generally live in groups.

Bees for example can communicate a complex route from hive to a particular flower patch. They can also reach consensus by vote. Not bad for a brain the size of a sesame seed.

Meerkats use three distinct methods of communication.

 

[Brickjectivity]

My wife was telling me that on Nat Geo wild, they were explaining how orcas have been filmed killing great whites and extracting their livers, by grabbing the shark and turning it upside down, putting it in a trance state, and then dragging the shark down until it suffocates and then extracting only the nutrient-rich liver and leaving the rest.

Apparently, the Orcas are are able to explain to other orcas, in detail, that by flipping sharks upside down, they become vulnerable. Orcas must literally have meetings, where they say: "hey, go over there and flip that shark upside down and drag him down at least 200 ft. For about 15 minutes, then bite under his right fin and extract the organ just beneath the heart."

...I mean, how else could orcas know to flip it upside down and all the other details?

The orcas may have learned this by watching human divers do it. Years ago someone made a video documentary of making friends with sharks, flipping them over and putting them into a trance, too.

 

[Martin]

The orcas may have learned this by watching human divers do it. Years ago someone made a video documentary of making friends with sharks, flipping them over and putting them into a trance, too.

Possible, but bear in mind that orcas have been around about 11 million years. If human divers can learn how to immobilise a shark in a matter of years, imagine the things that an intelligent animal like the orca could learn in 11 million years.
These time scales are unimaginable for humans, which is perhaps why some people struggle with TOE.

 

[icehorse]

I see nothing odd in this, many animals communicate, particularly family's or hives, those who generally live in groups.

Bees for example can communicate a complex route from hive to a particular flower patch. They can also reach consensus by vote. Not bad for a brain the size of a sesame seed.

Meerkats use three distinct methods of communication.

In computer science, artificial intelligence, there is a "swarm" algorithm that mimics how ants use smell to reinforce the best paths to food sources.