Whales Saving Seals from Orcas
Scientists have observed an interesting phenomenon of whales protecting seals from orcas. Whales are very agile and powerful creatures that could easily kill or greatly injure orcas with powerful slaps, but this takes up a lot of energy. This is one of the reasons this behavior is so confusing. Why would a whale waste so much energy to protect an animal that’s not one of its own species? Currently scientists don’t have an exact answer, but they do have a few theories.
First, some scientists say that humpback whales recognize the noise of an orca attack, and want to stop it, because they may be killing one of their own. Orcas regularly hunt humpback calves. So, humpbacks know the sound of a hunt, and want to stop it, in case they’re killing one of their own. Another similar theory is that humpbacks just don’t want orcas in the area, so they don’t potentially hunt one of their own. Furthermore, scientists have observed humpbacks chasing down orcas after a hunt and disrupting them until they leave the area. This behavior is called mobbing. Mobbing is when a group of prey harass a predator, or group of predators until they leave the area. Although some people believe these responses are just automatic biological responses, many believe otherwise. The counter argument is that since whales are extremely smart creatures, with advanced and complex social relationships, and can feel empathy, and in effect feel bad for the seals in the same way you would feel bad and probably do something to help a dog stuck in a cannel. In this same way a whale might feel bad for a helpless seal that’s being hunted by orcas.