Pod matriarch Dakota tosses a dusky dolphin into the air while hunting
Maikol Barrera
Based on this prey preference and their small pod size, researchers think the Humboldt Current pod might be from the type A ecotype. But their white eye patch is smaller than is typical of type A. DNA testing would provide conclusive evidence, but samples for such an analysis are hard to retrieve.
“We wish we could obtain skin biopsy samples to analyze their genetic data, as there is no genetic information for orcas in this region of the south-east Pacific,” García Cegarra says in a statement. “However, they are very elusive and intelligent, which makes it difficult to approach them in the boat for biopsies.”
ORCAS | Imágenes inéditas de una manada alimentándose en Chile | EL PAÍS
Bruno Díaz, scientific director of the Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute, tells El Pais that the new study is a starting point. “It is a foundation stone for future studies,” he says. “It would be interesting to see how regularly they visit that area and how they catch their favorite prey in that case.”
Another question remaining for scientists is how successfully the group is reproducing. In two recorded incidences of feeding on dusky dolphins, a female orca held onto the unlucky prey as her calves and other orcas ate. This evidence of successful offspring is encouraging, but risks such as pollution from nearby ports could be harmful to the survival of the population.
“The fact that we have observed newborn calves is important,” García Cegarra says in the statement, “because it indicates that they are having offspring, but we don’t know their survival rate.”
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Filed Under:
Animals,
Chile,
Dolphins,
Drones,
Mammals,
Oceans,
Pacific Ocean,
Whales
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Publish date : 2024-09-30 07:55:00
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