Humpback whales saving other species from orcas found to be common and maybe altruistic
Wednesday, August 10, 2016 - 07:01
in Biology & Nature
A team of researchers led by Robert Pitman, a marine ecologist with NOOA Fisheries' Southwest Fisheries Science Center, has found evidence that suggests humpback whales may engage in altruistic behavior during encounters with killer whales attacking other marine species. In a paper available on the open access site Marine Mammal Science, the team describes their analysis of humpback whale encounters with killer whales and why they believe it is possible the whales are intentionally helping other creatures to escape certain death by orcas.