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These orcas have been trying to feed people, new research shows (www.seattletimes.com)

submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Wild orcas on more than 30 occasions in four oceans have attempted to share their prey with people, potentially to develop relationships with humans, researchers have found.

In each of the instances recorded over two decades, orcas approached a person within a length of the orca’s body, and dropped freshly-hunted prey in front of the human, then waited for a response, according to a paper reporting the behavior published Monday in the Journal of Comparative Psychology.

Orcas of every age tried to share their prey, and just about everything was on the menu: sea otter, harbor seal, common murre, gray whale, green turtle, eagle ray, starfish, jellyfish, on and on.

Orcas are the ocean’s top predator, and their brains are second only to modern humans in terms of their size in relation to their body. Their capacity for advanced communications and cognitive, social and emotional intelligence is well known. Prey sharing is common in orca culture.

So just what are the orcas doing, offering food to people?

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago

A-Are they trying to give us some of their food in a desperate attempt to stop us from ruining their ecosystem?

Like this is a relatively recent phenomenon, right?