Fisherman enjoys rare sighting of false killer whales

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:10:55 GMT

Source: www.grindtv.com --- Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Mark Rayor has seen plenty while working as a fishing and diving guide for 15-plus years in Baja California’s East Cape region. But until earlier this week, he’d never seen false Killer Whales , which is understandable because they’re an offshore species rarely seen by boaters aboard coastal vessels. The sighting of 10-to-15 false Killer Whales occurred early Monday in the Sea of Cortez, near the northern boundary of Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park . “We have seen what I thought were false Killer Whales, but they looked different,” Rayor said. “At first that is what we thought they were, but then we had doubts. They just hung around and played with our panga until we left.” Not a lot is known about the movements of false Killer Whales or how many there are. They were named because they share feeding habits of some types of Killer Whales—notably those that attack and kill other cetaceans. They’re smaller than Killer Whales, however, measuring to about 20 feet (females to about 15 feet) and weighing to about 1,500 pounds. Like Killer Whales, false Killer Whales establish strong social bonds and generally travel in groups of 10 to 20. “False Killer Whales are typically found in deep, offshore, tropical to semi-tropical oceans, and they feed on large game fish,” said Annie Douglas, a researcher with Cascadia Research Collective in Olympia, Washington. “However, they occasionally come into more coastal waters or stray into colder clim ...

Why Killer Whales Won't Abandon Their Disabled Mates

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:53:35 GMT

Source: www.takepart.com --- Sunday, May 19, 2013
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