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Orca rams into yacht near Scotland, suggesting the behavior may be spreading

smithsonianmag.com

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Re: Orca rams into yacht near Scotland, suggesting the behavior may be spreading

#171

Post by bequanna »

fasthands9 wrote: post #21

I dont really get how this is suggested seriously as a new behavior. The inspiration for Moby Dick, one of the most read books in English, was based on a ship sunk my sperm whales: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essex_(whaleship) Yes I know orcas and sperm whales are different, but its weird that this is suggested a new behavior in general. And not just a new counting of something that has been going on for centuries.

Despite all the evidence we have of history repeating itself, people constantly want to convince themselves that they are somehow separate from the past and “this time is different”.

Re: Orca rams into yacht near Scotland, suggesting the behavior may be spreading

#172

Post by yurishimo »

SketchySeaBeast wrote: post #148
jml78 wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yacht is a loaded term. A 30ft sailboat is a yacht. Given the crazy housing prices, a lot of people are buying sailboats and living in them because it is way cheaper than renting. Yacht does not mean wealthy. I am firmly middle class. My family is planning to move onto a sailboat next year.

Between boat upkeep, day to day expenses and mooring fees it's actually cheaper than renting? That's interesting. I would have assumed it would be death by a thousand cuts and not worth the unreliable services and tiny living space.

It definitely depends on where you live. If you work in Seattle, you could save a few bucks on rent by living on a boat in Tacoma.

I doubt you'd save any money living on a boat in LA or Miami.

Re: Orca rams into yacht near Scotland, suggesting the behavior may be spreading

#173

Post by aurizon »

Kon-Peki wrote: post #169
aurizon wrote: post #3

Just add a low voltage electric fence to 2 plates glued underwater at port and starboard. Salt water conducts, also Orca's conduct - some small current flow that will be repellant to the Orca's, but not harmful. They do this to repel carp swimming upriver. one of those, with proper voltage and current limiting should be felt by an orca, but not harm the orca. A little experimentation will find a safe repellant level.

> some small current flow Don’t do this on your boat. It will eat your propeller and every other metal object you’ve got underwater.

It might work with a small AC voltage that would not corrode. In addition, they would be used when the boat was under power/sail going somewhere.

In dock it will be off

Re: Orca rams into yacht near Scotland, suggesting the behavior may be spreading

#174

Post by tough »

gremlinsinc wrote: post #166
anigbrowl wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

something of a coincidence Orcas do go in for fads (look up 'orca salmon hats') but experts oftentimes dismiss things as coincidence because they don't have a theory and don't want to look stupid by speculating. When I was growing up reports of ball lightning were dismissed as hallucinations or optical illusions until video and spectrographic technology advanced sufficiently to capture the phenomenon: https://en.wiki…

salmon hats? the color or the fish?

The fish. One cool Orca put the dead saumon in their nose as a kinda of earring/complement/statement. It took off and several did it too for decades

Link for context https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2022/02/14/66693872/and-now...

Re: Orca rams into yacht near Scotland, suggesting the behavior may be spreading

#177

Post by pvaldes »

whalesalad wrote: post #139
swid wrote: post #15

This American Life just did a segment where the experts were very skeptical of both the theories presented in this article - that the first encounters near Spain were caused by a traumatic event of a matriarch, and also that orca pods would communicate with each other to spread the behavior. The theory presented in that segment was the first orcas are sort of like rowdy teenagers participating in a fad, and the newer…

My gut is telling me it’s a parasite or toxin causing the aggression. But I have zero professional knowledge in this space.

The animal does not seen disoriented, just exploring the object. I seems play behavior

If I'm not wrong, the giant worm Crassicauda does not affect orcas, but can attack false killer whales and relatives, so is not an impossible hypothese

Re: Orca rams into yacht near Scotland, suggesting the behavior may be spreading

#178

Post by s1artibartfast »

Timon3 wrote: post #161
s1artibartfast wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In this case I think it's interesting how people project their personal social views onto the blank slate. The idea that the trend must have started by a female whale that was somehow harmed and is now seeking Justice if it's cleanly into the framework with what some people view the world. The idea that it was started by some way all that got a kick out of causing destruction doesn't have the same social resonance

> In this case I think it's interesting how people project their personal social views onto the blank slate. The idea that the trend must have started by a female whale that was somehow harmed and is now seeking Justice if it's cleanly into the framework with what some people view the world. You are injecting a political spin where there is none. Orcas live in a matriarchical hierarchy. People assume that the orcas h…

And I think they are doing what I'm describing. There's basically no scientific reason to favor Revenge story over entertainment except that it resonates with people and gets more clicks

Re: Orca rams into yacht near Scotland, suggesting the behavior may be spreading

#179

Post by grecy »

IvyMike wrote: post #141
gcanyon wrote: post #62

This is not the first time orcas have shown an awareness of us in boats: through the second half of the 1800s orcas in Australia actually helped whalers hunt baleen whales: herding the prey, and even grabbing ropes in their mouths to help haul, in exchange for the most valuable (to them) parts of the carcasses. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whales_of_Eden,_New_Sou... Old Tom, one of the most helpful orcas, die…

If someone is out there secretly training and paying Orcas to sink yachts... that would be pretty neat.

I want the orcas to fight back more and more, but deep down I know we will just wipe them out, which would be horrible

Re: Orca rams into yacht near Scotland, suggesting the behavior may be spreading

#180

Post by jamiek88 »

Tepix wrote: post #122
Scarblac wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just to be pedantic: orcas are dolphins, not whales (despite also being being called "killer whales").

" The orca (Orcinus orca), also called killer whale, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. " So it is both a dolphin and a whale.

Is a crow a corvid?

Ah, unidan. Back when Reddit drama was low stakes.

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