6/2/2005: Orcas love seals

xoB writes, "A friend of mine just got back from Alaska on Sunday. He sent me this picture with no explanation except the subject line. It speaks volumes to my imagination."

It surely does, to mine too.

Great pic, too - notice the majestic background that we don't see... except in the reflection in the water.

It looks like crows, or whatever that black bird is, love seals too.

I recall watching a nature show on TV where the whales would surf in a wave to sneak up on unsuspecting seals, then WHAM - dinner is served.
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I don't like large bodies of water anyway. This confirms that they are no place for anyone under 1000 pounds that doesn't have teeth this long:

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Polar Bears LOVE seals too!!

I used to be in the RCAF, and once got posted waaaaaaay up north.

Once saw a polar bear waiting at a seals air hole. We didn't come back for better than 2 hours... and the bear was still there. We stopped to watch (from a VERY respectful distance) and after about 10 minutes the bear suddenly moved fast as lightning and hooked a seal with one paw and tossed it a good 5 or 6 feet in one swipe. It was on the seal in a split second... thing didn't have a chance.

Then a whole bunch of bears we hadn't even seen started gathering to try to convince their buddy to share. At that point it was back on the skidoos to practice the better part of valor.

But I'll never forget just how easily the bear dealt with an animal bigger than a full grown man with razor sharp teeth of its own.

They look cute... but the big white bears are really dangerous.

Ubergeek

glatt wrote:

It looks like crows, or whatever that black bird is, love seals too.

Nevermore.

The common Raven is a year-around resident in the Aleutian area. Ravens are known for their sharp intelligence, playfulness and versatility. Good fliers, they are often seen doing aerial acrobatics. They are very gregarious and make a variety of calls to their companions. They mate for life and may live to be nearly 30 years old.They feed on nearly anything that is remotely edible. Ravens were important symbols for most Alaskan Native Americans and images of Ravens are common in folk art, religion and mythology.

There is a very nice article in one of the last few National Geographics on different populations of Orcas and their feeding patterns. It seems that only a subsection of the population feeds on seals and the seals seem to know which ones do and which don't. The researchers implied that there was enough differences both in behavior and morphology that the seal eating orcas could be considered a subspecies or perhaps even a distinct species. The article is worth reading.

Ubergeek wrote:

I used to be in the RCAF,

What is RCAF? royal canadian air force :question: really cool american fishermen :question:

Seriously, welcome to the Cellar....

LabRat wrote:

What is RCAF? royal canadian air force :question: really cool american fishermen :question:

Seriously, welcome to the Cellar....

:lol: Now THAT was funny :-) ... and thanks.

And just for the record, Royal Canadian Air Force :-)

The raven looks like it is on an ice-encrusted surfboard.

As opposed to the unusually stupid america fisherman (USAF) :us:

OK I'm on a roll now. :lame:

really asinine american fisherman (RAAF)
really tiresome american fisherman (RTAF)
really nauseating american fisherman (RNAF)

Back to work:comp1:

Great pic, too - notice the majestic background that we don't see... except in the reflection in the water.

I believe the background you can't see is Hubbard glacier. :biggrin: