Sunday, April 30, 2017

A Killer Whale Pod Is On a Killing Spree Off California’s Coast

One should not fuck with an orca.

Orcas are the wolves of the water: they are smart, they are strong, they are vicious. I mean, we call them killer whales. A pod of these water locked marauders are living up to their name as they go on a killing spree in California's Monterey Bay according to Nancy Black, a marine biologist in the area.

The pod involved in every single one of the kills is about nine strong. Recently, the pod treated a crew of whale watchers to a lifetime of nightmares when they slaughtered a grey whale calf in front of them.

Black said that since April 20 they have taken down five grey whale calves in ten days and that an orca she calls Emma is leading the attacks.

"It's her mother, (Emma) her daughter, and her granddaughter, plus another couple of her offspring," Black told the Mercury News. "So it's a whole family, because killer whales do live in family groups."

Emma and the rest of her fam have been joined by other orcas who want in on the fun. The first kill involved about 33 of the creatures—the hanger-ons probably came after hearing folktales of about the the crew. As for why this particular pod is so bloodthirsty, the explanations vary. It may be because the grey whales were late migrating to the bay this year so the orcas were particularly hungry for their traditional meal of baby grey whale, or they may be teaching their young to hunt.

Read More: Thanks to Climate Change, Killer Whales May Become the North's Top Predator

Either way, Black said that the Emma and her pod are "very good" at killing. They were able to murk a grey whale calf in 20 minutes the other day—something that takes a typical pod several hours.

It is unknown whether the orcas will continue their killing spree but, for good measure, take my hand child, let us pray they never find out about their brethren we keep in captivity.

Follow Mack Lamoureux on Twitter.



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