US EditionKiller whales and dolphins may be helping each other hunt off B.C. coast: new report
Northern resident orcas use dolphin echolocation to locate Chinook salmon and share prey, while dolphins gain food scraps and protection from predators, researchers found.
- Dalhousie and UBC researchers documented apparent cooperative hunting between northern resident killer whales and Pacific white-sided dolphins off Vancouver Island, British Columbia using drones and orca-mounted cameras.
- Field recordings from Vancouver Island showed researchers tracked nine northern resident orcas using suction-cup biologging tags with forward-facing video and aerial drones for body-condition analysis.
- Field audio and video showed both species echolocating, researchers recorded 25 recorded follow-and-forage instances, eight recorded Chinook capture-and-share events with dolphins present in four events, and one observed scavenging of an adult Chinook at around 197 feet deep.
- The study's authors urged further research to determine if co-foraging improves northern resident killer whales' hunting success, body condition, or reproduction, noting it could prompt stricter Chinook salmon conservation measures.
- Earlier studies framed interactions as kleptoparasitism, noting one observed mildly antagonistic behaviours, but researchers suggest dolphin safety and drafting benefits amid uncertainty about whether behavior is novel or historical.
63 Articles
63 Articles
On video recordings of Canadian researchers, the two species of whales can be seen in the joint hunt on king's salmon. For the scientists, everything points to a truly cooperative relationship with mutual benefit.
In the waters of British Columbia, an unusual collaboration develops. Resident whales follow Pacific white-side dolphins to hunt Chinook salmon, and they could even share fish with them, according to a new study. From a boat, the interaction between whales and dolphins seems like organized chaos, according to the authors of the study. But under water, an opportunistic alliance allows whales to access prey that would otherwise be less accessible.…
For the first time, scientists have filmed orcas and dolphins working together while hunting salmon off the coast of Canada. "It wasn't hunting the same prey at the same time; there was a certain order to the chaos," says lead researcher Sarah Fortune. Why the animals do this is unclear.
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