Even Killers Take Time Out To Play

Wednesday, October 4, 2006
AUSTRALIA - Sometimes even the ocean's ultimate killing machine takes time out to muck around.

A massive pod of killer whales which had yesterday been stalking a humpback mother and her baby calf, broke off the pursuit for an extremely rare, but spectacular show off the Gold Coast.

The pod of up to 30 killer whales, including at least one baby, spent the morning entertaining whale watchers with a series of acrobatic leaps into the air.

Not surprisingly, the humpback and its calf took advantage of the distraction and quickly bolted.

Despite their apparently playful nature yesterday, killer whales, or orcas, are the sea's most proficient predator.

Males can grow up to 10m in length and weigh several tonnes, dwarfing even the feared great white shark.

They also hunt in well-organised packs, making them more efficient killing machines.

The killer whales are returning to the colder southern waters, like the baby humpback whales on which they feast.

The predators regularly stalk humpbacks returning from their northern winter holiday, sometimes for several hours, before the exhausted calf is separated from its mother, making for an easy kill.

They could still catch the whales that escaped yesterday over the coming days.

Sightings of killer whales so close to shore are extremely rare, but the spectacular show was seen by several whale-watching boats.

Wayne Marsh from Spirit of the Gold Coast Cruises said killer whales generally tended to travel up and down the continent much further out to sea.

He also said their playful mood yesterday was in stark contrast to their ruthless killing streak.

Footage of orcas tossing the barely alive bodies of hapless seals into the air is common in television documentaries.

"They are called the wolves of the sea because they hunt in packs," he said.

"They travel the same routes as the migrating humpbacks, but they are usually a lot further out to sea, so it was pretty special to see them up-close."

Jim Kelly from Eclipse said the killer whales had been very friendly.

"They came up right alongside our boat," he said. "They were very inquisitive and were very interested in us and the boat.

"It was a real treat for the people on board because this sort of thing doesn't happen too often."

Killer whales have 10 to 12 large conical teeth on each side of the upper and lower jaws.

The tails of humpback whales often have teeth marks from where orcas have attacked.

Source: The Gold Coast Bulletin