Smell Of Death Repels Great Whites After Orca's Kill

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common_sense_seeker

Bicho Voador & Bicho Sugador
Valued Senior Member
A superb TV documentary on channel 5 (UK) last night 'The Whale That Ate The Great White' Nature Shock review. The orcas have learnt to ram the sharks, then turn them over to take advantage of their weakness; tonic immobility. Fantastic filming. All the other great whites leave the area en masse, despite the prime feeding season. A useful ingredient for a new shark repellant..

http://www.five.tv/programmes/documentaries/nature-shock/41879
 
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Enmos said:
Someone beat you to it.
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I noticed. I'm more interested in the repellant aspect. It worked so well. A small lemon shark was held upside down, making it docile in a state of tonic immobility. One drop of the liquid repellant by it's nose sent it into an instant surge of desperate energy to escape! These orcas have evolved to be the true masters of the oceans and everything else will do anything to escape. Even leaping out of the air?
 
common_sense_seeker said:
A superb TV documentary on channel 5 (UK) last night 'The Whale That Ate The Great White' Nature Shock review. The orcas have learnt to ram the sharks, then turn them over to take advantage of their weakness; tonic immobility. Fantastic filming. All the other great whites leave the area en masse, despite the prime feeding season. A useful ingredient for a new shark repellant..

http://www.five.tv/programmes/documentaries/nature-shock/41879
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what are they smelling? Why couldn't it just be that they are afraid of a predator they recognize?
 
Orleander said:
what are they smelling? Why couldn't it just be that they are afraid of a predator they recognize?
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The effected area is over a few square miles. All the great whites disappear. A collared one was seen to instantly descend to 500 meters and swim across an entire ocean rather than be around it's favourite feeding spot. They all sh*t themselves in an evolutionary strategy of survival. Orcas around equals death. Same with the rays too I guess..
 
so orcas = death. They aren't actually picking up a scent of death when one of their kin is killed?
 
Orleander said:
so orcas = death. They aren't actually picking up a scent of death when one of their kin is killed?
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They are. It's the smell of one of their own being killed and eaten which makes them assume that orcas are around. Therefore better to dive and get the hell out of the area. Simple.
 
but don't people kill sharks as well? Do they scatter when a fishing boat arrives?

sharkfin250.jpg
 
I guess so. Maybe this new research will change the hunting techniques of these fishermen. Horrible to think that this may actually increase their vulnerability to unscrupulous humans.
 
The amount of extrapolation in this thread is unbelievable.

It says right in the article that Orcas hunting sharks is rare. The first sentence, to be precise, by prefacing the article with:
The documentary series examining freak occurrences in the natural world returns.
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Tests with lemon sharks show that chemicals released when a shark is killed trigger a violent flight reaction in others of the same species.
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It says that the tests with the Lemon sharks that the scent of a dead member of their own species triggers a defensive response.

Also, the information about orcas having learned to use the sharks' tonic immobility as a hunting mechanism is specious at best. It's all speculation (emphasis mine):
“Orca are very smart,” says expert Ingrid Visser. “I’m pretty sure that tonic immobility is part of the repertoire of the orca.” Having observed the whales off the coast of New Zealand for many years, Visser thinks it feasible that they could habitually target great whites as food.
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Otherwise, the article is interesting.
 
My mistake. I was thinking about it myself last night. The shark has to be of the same species - okay. Orleander's point is still valid though: if you're hunting sharks for fins, then don't throw the dead bodies overboard..
 
common_sense_seeker said:
I noticed. I'm more interested in the repellant aspect. It worked so well. A small lemon shark was held upside down, making it docile in a state of tonic immobility. One drop of the liquid repellant by it's nose sent it into an instant surge of desperate energy to escape! These orcas have evolved to be the true masters of the oceans and everything else will do anything to escape. Even leaping out of the air?
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Hmm ok, I meant that the repellent already exists. I thought that you were hypothesizing about it.
 
common_sense_seeker said:
Yes, we already established that you weren't. The TV programme detailed the formulation and use of the repellents. (dumbass)
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Ah ok.
Dumbass? :bugeye:
Maybe you are the dumbass for not making that clear in the OP. It isn't in any of the two articles either.
 
Enmos said:
Ah ok.
Dumbass? :bugeye:
Maybe you are the dumbass for not making that clear in the OP. It isn't in any of the two articles either.
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Fair enough. I apologise. I remember why I worded it that way now..(to do with a repellent for the 'flying rays' idea)
 
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