<
https://www.livescience.com/animals/orcas/wild-orcas-offer-humans-food-could-they-be-trying-to-make-friends-or-manipulate-us>
'Wild orcas occasionally approach humans and offer us food, according to a new
study — but scientists aren't sure why.
Researchers have documented dozens of cases of orcas (
Orcinus orca), also
known as killer whales, dropping prey and other sea life in front of people. In
almost all of the encounters, the orcas then waited to see what humans would do
with their offering, and sometimes tried to offer food more than once. These
offerings included fish, some whale, birds, stingrays, seaweed and a turtle.
Researchers aren't certain what's driving this behavior, which was documented
in different orca populations over a more than 20-year period. But orcas are
known to share their food, according to the new study, published June 30 in the
Journal of Comparative Psychology.
"Orcas often share food with each other — it's a prosocial activity and a way
that they build relationships with each other," study lead author Jared Towers,
the executive director of Bay Cetology, a cetacean research institute in
Canada, said in a statement. "That they also share with humans may show their
interest in relating to us as well."
The researchers offered a range of possible explanations for the behavior,
suggesting that offering items to humans could provide opportunities for the
orcas "to practice learned cultural behavior, explore or play," and potentially
form relationships with us.'
Via Kenny Chaffin.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
