scholarly journals Predation on gray whales and prolonged feeding on submerged carcasses by transient killer whales at Unimak Island, Alaska

2011 ◽  
Vol 421 ◽  
pp. 229-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
LG Barrett-Lennard ◽  
CO Matkin ◽  
JW Durban ◽  
EL Saulitis ◽  
D Ellifrit
Keyword(s):  
Killer Whales ◽  
Gray Whales ◽  
Unimak Island ◽  
Prolonged Feeding

Attack on gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) in Monterey Bay, California, by killer whales (Orcinus orca) previously identified in Glacier Bay, Alaska

1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (8) ◽  
pp. 1528-1530 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Dawn Goley ◽  
Janice M. Straley
Keyword(s):  
Small Groups ◽  
Orcinus Orca ◽  
Monterey Bay ◽  
Eschrichtius Robustus ◽  
Killer Whales ◽  
Range Of Movement ◽  
Gray Whales ◽  
Glacier Bay ◽  
Linear Distance ◽  
Maximum Range

A group of at least 17 killer whales (Orcinus orca) were observed attacking a gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) mother and calf on 2 May 1992 in Monterey Bay, California, U.S.A. (36°47.90′N, 122°00.17′W). Small groups of killer whales took turns harassing the gray whales and prevented them from leaving the area. Three of the killer whales participating in this attack previously had been photographed on 6 August 1989 in Glacier Bay, Alaska, U.S.A. (58°41′N, 136°04′W). This linear distance nearly doubles the maximum range of movement previously reported for killer whales.

scholarly journals Antarctic killer whales make rapid, round-trip movements to subtropical waters: evidence for physiological maintenance migrations?

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Durban ◽  
R. L. Pitman
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Impact ◽  
Satellite Telemetry ◽  
Type B ◽  
Killer Whales ◽  
Round Trip ◽  
Antarctic Waters ◽  
Periodic Maintenance ◽  
Physiological Constraint ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Prolonged Feeding

Killer whales ( Orcinus orca ) are important predators in high latitudes, where their ecological impact is mediated through their movements. We used satellite telemetry to provide the first evidence of migration for killer whales, characterized by fast (more than 12 km h −1 , 6.5 knots) and direct movements away from Antarctic waters by six of 12 type B killer whales tagged when foraging near the Antarctic Peninsula, including all tags transmitting for more than three weeks. Tags on five of these whales revealed consistent movements to subtropical waters (30–37° S) off Uruguay and Brazil, in surface water temperatures ranging from −1.9°C to 24.2°C; one 109 day track documented a non-stop round trip of almost 9400 km (5075 nmi) in just 42 days. Although whales travelled slower in the warmest waters, there was no obvious interruption in swim speed or direction to indicate calving or prolonged feeding. Furthermore, these movements were aseasonal, initiating over 80 days between February and April; one whale returned to within 40 km of the tagging site at the onset of the austral winter in June. We suggest that these movements may represent periodic maintenance migrations, with warmer waters allowing skin regeneration without the high cost of heat loss: a physiological constraint that may also affect other whales.

Personality in captive killer whales (Orcinus orca): A rating approach based on the five-factor model.

2019 ◽  
Vol 133 (2) ◽  
pp. 252-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yulán Úbeda ◽  
Sara Ortín ◽  
Judy St. Leger ◽  
Miquel Llorente ◽  
Javier Almunia
Keyword(s):  
Factor Model ◽  
Five Factor Model ◽  
Orcinus Orca ◽  
Killer Whales

Prevalence of Killer Whale Tooth Rake Marks on Gray Whales off Sakhalin Island, Russia

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 643-652
Author(s):  
David W. Weller ◽  
Amanda L. Bradford ◽  
Aimée R. Lang ◽  
Alexander M. Burdin ◽  
Robert L. Brownell, Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Killer Whale ◽  
Sakhalin Island ◽  
Gray Whales

First record of Norwegian killer whales attacking and feeding on a harbour porpoise

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Mel Cosentino
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
First Record ◽  
Harbour Porpoise ◽  
Sperm Whales ◽  
Killer Whales ◽  
Strait Of Gibraltar ◽  
Cetacean Species ◽  
The North ◽  
Northern Bottlenose Whales

Orcinus orcais a cosmopolitan species and the most widely distributed marine mammal. Its diet includes over 140 species of fish, cephalopods, sea birds and marine mammals. However, many populations are specialised on certain specific prey items. Three genetically distinct populations have been described in the North Atlantic. Population A (that includes the Icelandic and Norwegian sub-populations) is believed to be piscivorous, as is population C, which includes fish-eating killer whales from the Strait of Gibraltar. In contrast, population B feeds on both fish and marine mammals. Norwegian killer whales follow the Norwegian spring spawning herring stock. The only description in the literature of Norwegian killer whales feeding on another cetacean species is a predation event on northern bottlenose whales in 1968. Daily land-based surveys targeting sperm whales were conducted from the Andenes lighthouse using BigEyes®binoculars (25×, 80 mm). The location of animals at sea was approximated through the use of an internal reticule system and a graduated wheel. On 24 June 2012 at 3:12 am, an opportunistic sighting of 11 killer whales was made off Andenes harbour. The whales hunted and fed on a harbour porpoise. Despite these species having overlapping distributions in Norwegian waters, this is the first predatory event reported in the literature.

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