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Post by Steve on Apr 23, 2012 12:45:45 GMT -6
Discovered this last night on TV. Looked it up on You Tube for you to watch if interested.
Killer whales we have discovered have learned to induce tonic immobility in great white sharks. The sharks when turned upside down become docile - releasing into their own systems a big dose of serotonin. The killer whales seem to have discovered this. Our rather, we have. Amazing.
This was first discovered off the Farallon Islands off San Francisco. It seems from tracking devices placed on sharks, when a Killer whale attacks a great white, the entire great white population vanishes. The tracking devices reveal they don't just leave the immediate area, but go deep (1500 feet) and go clear across the ocean to Hawaii to get away!
Hard to imagine a great white having any vulnerabilities. Mind over jaws.
Steve
Part 1 of 4 to part 4 of 4
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUXOqafGC5o&feature=relmfu [/youtube]
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Post by auntym on Apr 23, 2012 13:26:47 GMT -6
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Post by casper on Jun 16, 2012 17:50:27 GMT -6
I never seen a white killer whale before. I think they should have named him Casper.
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Post by skywalker on Jun 16, 2012 19:01:34 GMT -6
I saw that video about the killer whale killing the great white back when it first happened. That was an amazing thing to see. You would think a great white would be the most feared predator in the sea with no enemies whatsoever but apparently that's not the case. I guess they don't call them killer whales for nothing.
The said that after this attack happened every great white in the area vanished within days. Nobody knew where they went until scienbtists managed to read some of the satellite tracking data from some of the ones they had tagged. It seems that as soon as the first shark was killed all of the others dove down deep to the bottom of the ocean and headed far out to sea.
The reason is because when a shark is killed it releases a chemical that warns all of the other sharks of that species and they all run like heck...or rather swim like heck. It's one of natures natural defenses that helps save the others of the species. It's kind of interesting though that they evolved that way though. Sharks usually inherit favorable traits not die with them.
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Post by paulette on Jun 17, 2012 13:33:34 GMT -6
Interesting stuff. Note to self; do not cross orcas if they are having a grumpy day. Further note: how can one tell?
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Post by satansrini on Oct 2, 2012 23:21:15 GMT -6
Amazing..... but Id say, that we discovered it is not really surprising. That the Killer Whales discovered the Great White's weakness on their own is really amazing. Identifying such a weakness comes from tactical thinking, not just clever thinking out of desperation for hunger.
regards, Srinivas
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Post by skywalker on Oct 3, 2012 11:07:41 GMT -6
It might also be a skill that has been passed on from generation to generation. Whales have a language and are able to communicate with each other so maybe the older whales teach the younger ones how to do these things.
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Post by paulette on Oct 3, 2012 11:12:14 GMT -6
I agree Satansrini. I watched all the videos and the fact that all the sharks left at one time (even ones on the other side of an island in the middle of ocean currents) was impressive. Do white sharks have esp? We didn't know until recently that they were warm blooded and that they could swim in the black depths for days (possibly eating hunting seals and giant squid). So much we don't know. What I KNOW is this: on several occasions, myself and my son (as well as other surfers in the area) were avoided by big sharks. They knew we were there, and in some instances we knew they were there. In one case, I was followed by a large shark I presume was a great white when my toes were slightly bleeding from abrasion against my swim fins (when I was a boogie boarder). On another a large shark surfaced between where my son and I were sitting together (on our boards) out past the break. It could have nuzzled my ankle. Something knocked my son off his board (and he did not tell me until much later) and he kept surfing. I had a flash of something white under my board. I told myself it was the float of a crab trap, but later I realized it was the belly of a white which aborted a straight up attack at the last minute and pealed away from me (under my board). They are smart predators and we are inferior food so they gave us a pass (I guess). Who knows what a great white thinks.
Their are a few people who swim with Whites and even touch them. One man in particular managed not to get eaten (I think he was attacked though in the last 5 years or so). Anyway, footage of him with a shark up against him being "petted" - with its mouth closed. He said they have different personalities - the "players" are more curious than aggressive and those are the ones he touched. Maybe my son and I were lucky enough to run into a player or two.
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Post by satansrini on Oct 3, 2012 11:53:37 GMT -6
It might also be a skill that has been passed on from generation to generation. Whales have a language and are able to communicate with each other so maybe the older whales teach the younger ones how to do these things. True. Speaking about communication, I have once seen a documentary. I think it was titled something to the effect of "If aliens came to Earth, would they talk to us?". I mean that is a long name for programme but what I gave is the sense of it. In that there were some communication experts who were talking about how humans communication, how some animals communicate, which other animal species have a complex communication system and so forth. Apparently regardless of the language we all speak, our communication system has parallels and a range/boundary within which we communicate. I can't remember the exact terminology these folks were using. You would forgive me for that. Apparently the most complex communication is NOT done by humans but by Dolphins it seems! So they were saying, if aliens came here, while we are all trying to communicate with the lights and signals (I think they referred to Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind), the aliens will actually be inclined to and find more success with Dolphins and with ease too! Regards, Srinivas
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Post by skywalker on Oct 3, 2012 19:10:45 GMT -6
They probably would. I think dolphins are a lot more intelligent than people give them credit for. Humans, in spite of all of our intelligence, can be pretty dense sometimes. Perhaps it's their ego that gets in the way. Other animals like dogs can learn to recognize human commands but do people ever learn to understand what a dog is saying? Nope. I can just imagine a UFO right now traveling to earth, landing on the dolphin's version of the White House lawn (or sea weed bed) and making contact. Just imagine all the horror stories the dolphins would tell them about us.
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Post by skywalker on Oct 3, 2012 19:26:43 GMT -6
I agree Satansrini. I watched all the videos and the fact that all the sharks left at one time (even ones on the other side of an island in the middle of ocean currents) was impressive. Do white sharks have esp? We didn't know until recently that they were warm blooded and that they could swim in the black depths for days (possibly eating hunting seals and giant squid). So much we don't know. What I KNOW is this: on several occasions, myself and my son (as well as other surfers in the area) were avoided by big sharks. They knew we were there, and in some instances we knew they were there. In one case, I was followed by a large shark I presume was a great white when my toes were slightly bleeding from abrasion against my swim fins (when I was a boogie boarder). On another a large shark surfaced between where my son and I were sitting together (on our boards) out past the break. It could have nuzzled my ankle. Something knocked my son off his board (and he did not tell me until much later) and he kept surfing. I had a flash of something white under my board. I told myself it was the float of a crab trap, but later I realized it was the belly of a white which aborted a straight up attack at the last minute and pealed away from me (under my board). They are smart predators and we are inferior food so they gave us a pass (I guess). Who knows what a great white thinks. Their are a few people who swim with Whites and even touch them. One man in particular managed not to get eaten (I think he was attacked though in the last 5 years or so). Anyway, footage of him with a shark up against him being "petted" - with its mouth closed. He said they have different personalities - the "players" are more curious than aggressive and those are the ones he touched. Maybe my son and I were lucky enough to run into a player or two. Sharks fascinate me, for a lot of reasons. Especially the Great Whites. I think they are one of the coolest animals on the planet. I've done quite a bit of reading about them and watching videos too. It's amazing how much more we know about them today than we did back in the 1970s when Jaws was filmed. Back then they were all thought of as monstrous killing machines. Sharks do have different personalities just like all animals do. Some Great Whites are very timid while others are extremely aggressive. Either way they deserve a lot of respect. People who swim in the open with them and survive can be classified as either extremely lucky or suicidal. That is one thing that even I am not crazy enough to do! I have seen a lot of videos of sharks taken by scientists who are studying behavior while feeding. It seems that many times a shark will circle its potential prey making repeated runs at it while getting closer and more confident with each run. Usually just before an attack they will bump or nudge their target. That doesn't always happen though. As for why the sharks all disappeared from the area where that killer whale attack occurred supposedly a shark that is dying a violent death secretes a chemical that causes the other sharks of that same species to run for cover. Their noses are so sensitive they can smell it pretty easily as it circulates through the water.
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