Animals Behaving Badly

[Karearea]

08:00 Fat cat Marlene given breakfast
08:45 I head out to car, off to gym. Marlene says still hungry, gets a top-up. I leave.
09:10 Rachael arrives to clean, she feeds Marlene when we are away, Marlene rushes up to her, tells her we are away, so can she have breakfast please...

They do that.

I had a cat named Lorenzo, whose nickname became Podgy.

And one named Carlos, aka Fat Albert.

And remembered last night - how could I forget! Victoria, known as Piglet.

[PHXPhlyer]

Orcas sink sailing yacht in Strait of Gibraltar
Passengers reported feeling sudden blows to the hull and rudder before water started seeping into the ship.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science ... rcna152093

An unknown number of orcas have sunk a sailing yacht after ramming it in Moroccan waters in the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain’s maritime rescue service said on Monday, a new attack in what has become a trend in the past four years.

The vessel Alboran Cognac, which measured 15 metres (49 feet) in length and carried two people, encountered the highly social apex predators, also known as killer whales, at 9 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) on Sunday, the service said.

The passengers reported feeling sudden blows to the hull and rudder before water started seeping into the ship. After alerting the rescue services, a nearby oil tanker took them onboard and transported them to Gibraltar.

The yacht was left adrift and eventually sank.

The incident is the latest example of recurring orca rammings around the Gibraltar Strait that separates Europe from Africa and off the Atlantic coast of Portugal and northwestern Spain.

Experts believe them to involve a subpopulation of about 15 individuals given the designation “Gladis.”

According to the research group GTOA, which tracks populations of the Iberian orca sub-species, there have been nearly 700 interactions since orca attacks on ships in the region were first reported in May 2020.

Researchers are unsure about the causes for the behaviour, with leading theories including it being a playful manifestation of the mammals’ curiosity, a social fad or the intentional targeting of what they perceive as competitors for their favourite prey, the local bluefin tuna.

Although known as killer whales, endangered orcas are part of the dolphin family. They can measure up to eight metres and weigh up to six tonnes as adults.

PP

[Hydromet]

At Eden on the NSW South Coast there is a 'Killer Whale Museum' with the skeleton of Old Tom, an orca that used to tow whalers' boats out when there where whales in the area. There's a photo on the link showing how his teeth are worn.

Granddaughter got into trouble in primary school for arguing with the teacher, who said they were members of the whale family. Teacher should have known better - SiL was manager of the local marine park, so he printed off a stack of references to the correct classification which Gd took to school.

[Karearea]

^ seems like 'Old Tom' was a bit of a rascal and a traitor to Cetaceans

Very interesting.

[llondel]

^ seems like 'Old Tom' was a bit of a rascal and a traitor to Cetaceans

Very interesting.

Orcas will eat whales. He probably pulled the boats out so they'd kill a whale and he could catch a meal while they were chopping up the carcass.

[OFSO]

Watching episode three of Diddly Squat Farm. Why do sows occasionally eat their new-born ?

[Hydromet]

^ seems like 'Old Tom' was a bit of a rascal and a traitor to Cetaceans

Very interesting.

Orcas will eat whales. He probably pulled the boats out so they'd kill a whale and he could catch a meal while they were chopping up the carcass.

Yes, apparently the orcas used to eat the lips and offal of the whales.

[1DC]

Orcas will kill when they are not hungry, watched them separate a new born whale from its mother once and then kill it. They then just ate it's heart and left it.