Quelle Surprise, A Killer Whale living up to its name

opinion guy · 25-02-2010 01:23PM

Maybe she looked like a seal with her wet-suit on ?

cyberhog · 25-02-2010 01:30PM

Orcas are the scumbags of the sea. They needlessly torment their prey, they will head butt and tail slap a seal for up to 30 minutes before finally killing it.That SeaWorld Orca should be destroyed. I have no sympathy for it, not one iota.

IvySlayer · 25-02-2010 01:34PM

cyberhog wrote: »

Orcas are the scumbags of the sea. They needlessly torment their prey, they will head butt and tail slap a seal for up to 30 minutes before finally killing it.That SeaWorld Orca should be destroyed. I have no sympathy for it, not one iota.

They're a pack hunter, like wolves or lions. It may seem cruel, but it's nature. Lions will hop on the back of bufflao/elephants and bite so it bleeds to death. Some lions choose to put their mouths over the preys nose and mouth to stop it getting oxygen, some go straight for the jugular.

It's not nice to watch I admit, I watched on animal planet a mother cheetah capture a baby zebra, let it live so her cubs could pratice on it, it tried to run away, but the mother kept bringing it back until the cubs finally killed it. It's nature though, circle of life, survival of the fittest.

cyberhog · 25-02-2010 01:45PM

IvySlayer wrote: »

They're a pack hunter, like wolves or lions. It may seem cruel, but it's nature. Lions will hop on the back of bufflao/elephants and bite so it bleeds to death. Some lions choose to put their mouths over the preys nose and mouth to stop it getting oxygen, some go straight for the jugular.

The Lion is only interested in getting the job done it doesn't derive any pleasure from killing it's prey. The difference with Orcas is they enjoy tormenting their prey.

opinion guy · 25-02-2010 01:47PM

cyberhog wrote: »

The Lion is only interested in getting the job done it doesn't derive any pleasure from killing it's prey. The difference with Orcas is they enjoy tormenting their prey.

I've seen our cat tease its prey also for no other reason than to just amuse itself. Its just nature

petes · 25-02-2010 01:48PM

cyberhog wrote: »

The difference with Orcas is they enjoy tormenting their prey.

How do you know this?

IvySlayer · 25-02-2010 01:52PM

cyberhog wrote: »

The Lion is only interested in getting the job done it doesn't derive any pleasure from killing it's prey. The difference with Orcas is they enjoy tormenting their prey.

Did they smile or something?

I'm no marine biologist. You said there were head-butting, that's how they kill seals. Tail-slapping is for stunning.

What's the difference between a lion using his teeth/claws and an Orca using his head/tail to hunt?

tman · 25-02-2010 01:52PM

Surely "kelp surprise" would have made a better title...

Just the correct spelling would have done really. I've got an image of Del boy saying the title stuck in my head now... "Kel surprise, Rodders!"

ejmaztec · 25-02-2010 01:56PM

panda100 wrote: »

Just because this hapened doesnt mean whales arent friendly.

Yes, I was wondering why they called them killer whales myself.:eek:

Noopti · 25-02-2010 02:14PM

cyberhog wrote: »

Orcas are the scumbags of the sea. They needlessly torment their prey, they will head butt and tail slap a seal for up to 30 minutes before finally killing it.That SeaWorld Orca should be destroyed. I have no sympathy for it, not one iota.

You gotta love it when people try to transpose human value systems & emotions on wild animals. A wild animal won't think to itself "hmm, actually this is a little cruel and unncessary, I therefore will make sure to swiftly kill my prey in as humane a method as possible, therby reducing it's suffering. And in doing so I will have a clear conscience"

As for wanting it to be "destroyed".....hah! So the whale is guilty of.....being a whale. What perfect sense you make.....

KingLoser · 25-02-2010 02:16PM

cyberhog wrote: »

The Lion is only interested in getting the job done it doesn't derive any pleasure from killing it's prey. The difference with Orcas is they enjoy tormenting their prey.

Even if this was the case, Orca behavior has been around longer than your opinion on it.

seamus · 25-02-2010 02:18PM

cyberhog wrote: »

Orcas are the scumbags of the sea. They needlessly torment their prey, they will head butt and tail slap a seal for up to 30 minutes before finally killing it.That SeaWorld Orca should be destroyed. I have no sympathy for it, not one iota.

Have you ever tried eating a fish or a rat while it's still moving? It's doable, but you'll do a lot of damage as it thrashes around inside your stomach.

The Orca uses head butt and tail slaps to disable the seal before eating it. This may sometimes take multiple strikes to ensure the animal is dead or unconscious.

When my dog goes into a cage, the very first thing she does is start biting and scratching at the bars. That's all well and good when it's steel, but what effect would this have on the inside of a whale's stomach?

faceman · 25-02-2010 02:19PM

Am I only one who doesnt find this story funny?

25-02-2010 02:24PM

m@cc@ wrote: »

They are. It's probably to do with mis-translations down the years. For instance, Hippopotamus is Greek for 'river horse' but obviously it's not a horse. I'm fairly sure it's not the only instance of animals having incorrect names but none come to mind at the moment.

True. Unicorns exist, but they're fat and grey and we call them Rhinos for some reason

Sharpshooter wrote: »

Good spot, feather we like it or not this kind of explanation can get you down.

Jesus, woman, are you doing this on porpoise? You shore shoulda quit while you were ahead.

stovelid · 25-02-2010 02:29PM

cyberhog wrote: »

Orcas are the scumbags of the sea.

True - they all have trainers too by the sounds of the article.

BaZmO* · 25-02-2010 02:32PM

m@cc@ wrote: »

They are. It's probably to do with mis-translations down the years. For instance, Hippopotamus is Greek for 'river horse' but obviously it's not a horse. I'm fairly sure it's not the only instance of animals having incorrect names but none come to mind at the moment.

Yeah it's like Great Danes, most of them aren't even from Denmark.

The_Minister · 25-02-2010 02:45PM

KingLoser wrote: »

Even if this was the case, Orca behavior has been around longer than your opinion on it.

You can say the same for Smallpox - still glad it's gone.

opinion guy · 25-02-2010 03:04PM

Noopti wrote: »

You gotta love it when people try to transpose human value systems & emotions on wild animals. A wild animal won't think to itself "hmm, actually this is a little cruel and unncessary, I therefore will make sure to swiftly kill my prey in as humane a method as possible, therby reducing it's suffering. And in doing so I will have a clear conscience"

As for wanting it to be "destroyed".....hah! So the whale is guilty of.....being a whale. What perfect sense you make.....

In fairness - how do you know animals aren't capable of some level of abstract and/or emotional thought processing? I really think it flies in the face of the evidence to be honest. We have numerous stories of pets and even wild animals saving the lives of humans. Then we have stories like this one where seeminlgy 'tame' animal takes a strop and kills someone. Stand to reason the animals have some level of moods, compassion and being pissed off.
Apart from that every week they do some study that shows animals are smarter than we thought they were. And our intelligence had to evolve from somewhere - all of those qualities we call intelligence had to have some level of predecessor in the animal kingdom, we didn't just magically evolve a gajillion new qualities in one evoluionary leap - almost all of those qulaities had some precursor

Case in point:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8527009.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8528000/8528534.stm

Really pisses me off the way the old religious opinions on animals being dumb soulless instinct driven creatures still dominate our perceptions of them

KingLoser · 25-02-2010 03:04PM

The_Minister wrote: »

You can say the same for Smallpox - still glad it's gone.

Aye aye, you can, but that's not my point really. What I'm saying that it doesn't really matter if you, or me are glad or not. Some things on the planet are above and beyond human comprehension. We don't know why the Orca does what it does, but we're better to accept it as it's always been, rather than destroy it as mentioned before.

Now, if you'll all excuse me.. I've got some trees that need hugging.

cyberhog · 25-02-2010 04:11PM

AN OPEN LETTER TO ORCAS.

March 21, 2006

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/openletters/21orcas.html

resident killer whales have never been observed to eat other marine mammals, they occasionally harass and kill porpoises and seals for no apparent reason

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whale

tossing seals up in the air, catching them, tossing them again, catching them... in some cases it can go on for HOURS! That's quite sadistic.

wolfpawnat · 25-02-2010 04:27PM

Sharpshooter wrote: »

So why the different term when identifying them?

Surely Whales are classed as different to dolphins?

The Killer whale is technically not a whale but the largest member of the dolphin family (I dunno why, but there you go)

m@cc@ wrote: »

They are. It's probably to do with mis-translations down the years. For instance, Hippopotamus is Greek for 'river horse' but obviously it's not a horse. I'm fairly sure it's not the only instance of animals having incorrect names but none come to mind at the moment.

A hippo is actually of the equine family. I know that should weird but it actually is !?!

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

There are quite a few animals with "incorrect" names that confuse people. Guinea pigs, MeerKats, Prairie dog's which have no connection with pigs, cats or dogs.

Correct, Guinea pigs and Prairwie Dogs are rodents. And meerkats are a member of the mongoose mammalian family.

Sharpshooter wrote: »

Yeah, I heard before that a Prairie dog was a type of ground squirrel.

And a Meerkat is a type of Mongoose, that originated from South Africa.

It's confusing to say the least.

Well both squirells and Prairie dogs are members of the Rodent family, so yes they are related.

Michellenman wrote: »

I bet they're not types of geese either.

/headmelt.

Haha, no, no they are not.

And final bit Off Topic, Hyena's are closer related to the feline faimly than the canine. (Will the weirdness never end!!!!)

Now having read that I realise I have watched WAY TOO MANY David Attenborough DVD's!!!!!

OT now. You shove a large living, breathing animal with an independant thought pattern into a tank and get it to swim in circles for a few years and you do not think these things may happen. Why do you think I don't have a tiger on my balcony, they are wild animals with instincts and needs that they are not going to have met, even of men are found dead naked in the pool with them(wtf?)

ceadaoin. · 25-02-2010 04:32PM

cyberhog wrote: »

AN OPEN LETTER TO ORCAS.

March 21, 2006

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/openletters/21orcas.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whale

tossing seals up in the air, catching them, tossing them again, catching them... in some cases it can go on for HOURS! That's quite sadistic.

And? This is a part of nature. Never seen a cat play with a mouse or bird it has caught...should they also be destroyed? As if humans never do anything sadistic to other animals..

I know, lets create some sort of animal prison where we can give life sentences to these heartless, seal murdering bastards. We could make the enclosures barely big enough for them to move freely and perhaps make them perform mindless tasks daily for our entertainment

And an open letter to orcas?

Dyr · 25-02-2010 05:38PM

Originally Posted by cyberhog
The difference with Orcas is they enjoy tormenting their prey.

How do you know this?

I think there was an MRBI poll of a sample group of orca's done a few years back.

dceire · 25-02-2010 06:03PM

Insurgent wrote: »

I was just after watching a documentary about Luna the killer whale and how friendly it was in Canada when I heard this.

Bad news Insurgent!

Just to add more weight to the case for not holding these killer whales (orcas for all you anal folks out there) its not a simple case of just freeing Willy, or Tilly...

Killer whales: What to do with captive orcas?

brendansmith · 25-02-2010 10:55PM

opinion guy wrote: »

? guh ? I don't get it ?

Im not surprised but here we go anyway:

Witnesses said the 30-year-old, 12,300-pound bull orca named Tilikum, or Tilly for short, suddenly jumped out of the 35-foot-deep tank, grabbed Dawn Brancheau, 40, around the waist and "thrashed her all around".

Nobody got it????????? Jesus!!

m@cc@ · 25-02-2010 11:09PM

wolfpawnat wrote: »

And final bit Off Topic, Hyena's are closer related to the feline faimly than the canine. (Will the weirdness never end!!!!)

I'm fairly sure Hyenas ARE felines. I guess that doesn't counter your point but you seem to be suggesting that they're not.

Liam Byrne · 26-02-2010 12:09AM

By our foriegn staff

They obviously write their own credits, too!

m@cc@ · 26-02-2010 12:11AM

Liam Byrne wrote: »

They obviously write their own credits, too!

What were you quoting?

caseyann · 26-02-2010 12:13AM

Poor woman rip:(

Poor Orca to waiting for verdict of what should happen to it now.
Its an animal those are the risks for turning a wild animal in to a show.God damn humans lording over everything like we have right to choose what animal lives or dies or should be a show:mad:
You would swear it was going to become serial human killer could have been any reason.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i · 26-02-2010 01:00AM

cyberhog wrote: »

The Lion is only interested in getting the job done it doesn't derive any pleasure from killing it's prey. The difference with Orcas is they enjoy tormenting their prey.

The strugle for survival is neither cruel or triumphant.

Have you any evidence to suggest they enjoy killing their prey? Nature has a lot of oddoties in it, but we are the worst of all. As humans, I don't think we have any authority to judge any other species on this planet in terms of that species being cruel and unjust.

Orcas are, by nature, a dangerous animal. One to be respected. This case is exactly what happens when we encounter predators. You cannot take a wild animal, rear their young and expect them ever to be tame. They will always be wild.

cyberhog wrote: »

Orcas are the scumbags of the sea. They needlessly torment their prey, they will head butt and tail slap a seal for up to 30 minutes before finally killing it.That SeaWorld Orca should be destroyed. I have no sympathy for it, not one iota.

I'm no expert, but I did hear that they do this to show their young to hunt. In many species the mother will catch it's prey and not kill it immediately. It's life. There is nothing cruel at all about orcas.

Quelle Surprise, A Killer Whale living up to its name

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