Can You Mistake A Dolphin for a Killer Whale?w
Lascelles Lee
Can you mistake a dolphin for a killer whale?
"Mama,look! I spy a dolphin through my binoculars...my he or she
sure does look friendly!...Like Flipper in the movies."
"Let me see those binoculars, son...No... that's a pygmy killer
whale!" Their conversation ended. By the way, a good friend told me that
dolphins are not attracted to whales, and he once saw, in a movie, a
killer whale about to attack a swimmer in difficulty...a dolphin appeared
on the scene, assessed the situation in a flash, and zeroed in on the
killer whale from below, knocking his brains out with what a jolt. This
interception gave the swimmer sometime to get to safer grounds.
Boy! I saw some pictures of an Irrawaddy Dolphin and a Pygmy
Killer Whale and they sure do look alike...Their faces resemble...shape
of the heads, position of the eyes and mouths. They all look as though
they have a broad smile. Look for Irrawaddy dolphins in the big rivers of
southern and south-eastern Asia and in neighboring seas. Their food:
mainly fish and crabs.Look for Pygmy killer whales in waters
world-wide...tropical, warm and temperate. Many have been sighted in
Japanese waters, so don't be surprised if you see a bunch of them in the
north-western pacific ocean.Their food: other dolphins and what else?
Bruce Lane
>Can you mistake a dolphin for a killer whale?
Some folks might. ;-) Don't think I could, though. That natural
tux they wear, to say nothing of their size and shape, is a bit
obvious.
> "Let me see those binoculars, son...No... that's a pygmy killer
>whale!" Their conversation ended. By the way, a good friend told me that
>dolphins are not attracted to whales, and he once saw, in a movie, a
>killer whale about to attack a swimmer in difficulty...a dolphin appeared
>on the scene, assessed the situation in a flash, and zeroed in on the
>killer whale from below, knocking his brains out with what a jolt. This
Boy... that must have been either one strong dolphin, or the props
dept. didn't make the latex orca's head strong enough. ;-)
Actually, I think I've got one to top that. At Marine World, many
years ago when the park was still in Redwood City, CA., a friend of
mine and I were watching the show animals (including a -large- male
pilot whale) through the underwater windows.
The pilot whale, at the time, was... mmm.... 'excited?' Yes,
that's a good way to put it. The activities in the pool at that time
were better than any three X-rated movies.
In any case, one lady that was walking by at the time was heard to
say, 'Oh, look! The whale's having a baby!'
Myself, and my friend, couldn't stop laughing over this for ten
minutes. ;-)
-=-=- Bruce Lane, Associate Member, -=-=-
-=-=- Intl. Marine Animal Trainers Association -=-=-
-=-=- American Association of Zoos & Aquariums -=-=-
-=-=- (kyr...@wolfenet.com) -=-=-
-=-=- ,,,No matter how hard we may try, our science can only describe an object, event, -=-=-
-=-=- or living creature, in our own human terms. It cannot, in any way, shape, or -=-=-
-=-=- form, define any of them... -=-=-
Bruce Lane
>In article <4qrho4$g...@mxol.mxol.com>,
>Lascelles Lee <gold...@spacelab.net> wrote:
>>Can you mistake a dolphin for a killer whale?
>
>Nope. A killer whale *is* a dolphin. The pigmy killer has even bred
>successfully with bottlenose dolphins at Sea Life Park.
Actually, that was a False Killer Whale. I don't know of any park,
in the United States, that has a Pygmy Killer Whale in captivity.
>There have been no recorded incidents of a killer whale killing a
>human. No dolphin would dream of attacking one... though there have
>been a handful of dolphin attacks on humans, at least one fatal.
The so-called dolphin 'attack' that was fatal was in response to
one foolish swimmer who thought it would be fun to stick a popsicle
stick into the animal's blowhole. Considering that this is the
dolphin's only way of breathing, I would call it self-defense.
In fact, I can't think of any unprovoked attacks on humans. Every
incident that I know of was sparked because the human involved did
something royally stupid.
>(speaking of which, I would like some feedback if *mine* are bogus:
> given the increasing contact between orcas and humans in the northwest
> I expect the first tragedy any day now. :-P )
There have been no incidents that I know of. Kayakers are known to
travel with the resident pods, and the whales don't seem to have a
problem with it at all.
Acts of human stupidity should not be blamed on the dolphins. How
would you feel if you had been born with your mouth sealed, your only
way of breathing was through your nose and someone tried to jam a
popsicle stick up it?
If you're going to swim with wild dolphins, especially those that
are seeking human company, it is critical to remember that you are on
their turf. Do something that they feel is threatening to them, and
they will react accordingly, just as a human would.
Caveat emptor!
JDTOUGH
an orca apparently mistook a wet-suited human on a surfboraf for a seal
and grabbed him. The orca apparently tasted the wetsuit and spit out his
prey, who suffered only minor injuries.
Matt Bille
MattW...@AOL.com
Rene Maes
> It's possible to kayak in these waters with an organzation
>called Northern Lights Expeditions. They have a Web Site, although I
>don't know its address offhand.
The address of this site is : http://www.seakayaking.com/index.html
The Nautilus has made a search for you...It looks great.
Flipping regards to all.
Nemo
rene...@ping.be
Dolphin Island Greenware N.P.O.
A Non Profit Organization with Many Friends in Cyberspace
Bd Prince de Liege, 47, et3
B-1070 Brussels
Belgium
Url : http://www.ping.be/~ping1081/index.html
Home of the WWW Dolphin FAQ
Orca
: In article <4qrho4$g...@mxol.mxol.com>,
: Lascelles Lee <gold...@spacelab.net> wrote:
: >Can you mistake a dolphin for a killer whale?
: Nope. A killer whale *is* a dolphin. The pigmy killer has even bred
: successfully with bottlenose dolphins at Sea Life Park.
: There have been no recorded incidents of a killer whale killing a
: human.
No, but humans have been seriously injured by Orcas, but only in places
like SeaWorld, but maybe this should not be counted. Besides, how would
anyone know. What about divers/surfers that have dissappeared and it was
presumed to be a shark attack ?
: No dolphin would dream of attacking one... though there have
: been a handful of dolphin attacks on humans, at least one fatal.
: So, nice try, but the last thing we need is more bogus facts.
: (speaking of which, I would like some feedback if *mine* are bogus:
: given the increasing contact between orcas and humans in the northwest
: I expect the first tragedy any day now. :-P )
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Orca
: It's important to realize that there are two types of orcas (aka "killer"
: whales). One group is transient, plying the open ocean much of the time.
The terms 'transient' and 'resident' refer to Orcas of Puget Sound and
around Vancouver Island BC and not to Orcas worldwide [ as far as I know ].
: These are the orcas that feed on large mammals: seals, other dolphins
: and such. You may have seen footage of orcas intentionally beaching
: themselves in order to get at seals. These are the transients. And
: although aggressive, there haven't been any recorded attacks on humans.
: In fact, one videographer who recorderd this seal-beaching behavior
: actually got in the water with them in order to get some dramatic
: underwater shots. He reported that a large orca circled him once,
: maintaining eye contact much of the time, and then swam on to the beach.
: Apparently, it didn't see the human as a food source.
: OK, the OTHER group of orcas are coastal and they swim along the shores
: of Vancouver Island. These particular cetaceans feed on fish, and that's
: it. It is these groups of orcas that have been the subject of intense
: study. It was realized several years ago that different pods have unique
: dialects, strongly suggesting that their vocalizations are learned rather
: than instinctive. Studies of these pods also revealed much of the social
: structure of orcas: they are monogamous and their pods are lead by a
: female. It's possible to kayak in these waters with an organzation
: called Northern Lights Expeditions. They have a Web Site, although I
: don't know its address offhand.
: I'm not sure if that answers your question, but it's more or less on the
: subject.
Peter da Silva
Bruce Lane <kyr...@wolfenet.com> wrote:
> Actually, that was a False Killer Whale. I don't know of any park,
>in the United States, that has a Pygmy Killer Whale in captivity.
My mistake, you're right.
>>There have been no recorded incidents of a killer whale killing a
>>human. No dolphin would dream of attacking one... though there have
>>been a handful of dolphin attacks on humans, at least one fatal.
> The so-called dolphin 'attack'
It was an attack, but I'll definitely agree with you that it was in self-
defence. Given the abuse that dolphins get from humans it is a continual
source of amazement to me that this sort of thing doesn't happen that
often.
After all, dolpins *are* large powerful animals, predators, and the largest
of dolphins (the orca) feed on animals as large as humans. Yet even during
the whaling era no-one ever witnessed an attack on humans by any of them.
The whalers of Twofold Bay, in Australia, wrote of the orcas. They would
be all around the ship, but even when a whaleman fell into the water while
they were feeding they didn't attack him.
I don't want to minimise the amazing forebearance this clan has had towards
humans, by any means! If you think that's the message I'm trying to convey,
I apologize for not writing clearly enough.