@pnwprotectors @maestro320v Orca Magic from our friend @maestro320v • • • "Chasing Herring" Orcas chasing a huge ball of herring in the Norwegian Sea at sunset courtesy of Sea Legacy @sea_legacy Founder and @natgeo Fellow, @paulnicklen together with his wife Conservation Photojournalist, Cristina Mittermeier @cristinamittermeier • As social animals that live in groups, orcas need to communicate with each other to maintain social bonds, and to coordinate feeding behaviours. Indeed, acoustics constitute an orcas' primary sense and involve three types of vocalisations. Echolocation clicks are high frequency sounds that are used for finding prey and for navigation. The echoes received from the produced sounds enable the whale to form an image of its surroundings. Whistles are variable, pure tone signals typically associated with social activities, and used for communication over short distances. Pulsed calls act as indicators of affiliation, and are used for communication over long distances. Research has shown that the types of sounds different orca populations make can vary greatly. These differences have been termed dialects, and are a method for researchers to distinguish which orcas belong to which population. The communication and sounds used in hunting also vary greatly depending on the main food source of the orca. Orca populations that specialise on hunting marine mammals are typically silent when they hunt, as their prey can hear and detect orca vocalisations. In contrast, fish eating orca populations are highly vocal, as the physiology of their prey’s ear cannot detect the frequencies of their sounds. • #SaveOurWhales #SetTheWhalesFree #NoToCaptivity #NOtoSeaWorld #WeAreTheOrca #NoFishNoBlackFish #BreachTheDams #DoNotBuyATicket #CaptivityIsCruel https://www.instagram.com/p/BoUYg_JBpzq/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=7gy15p5ves5m
