image credit: RORY MOORE / BARCROFT MEDIAHabitat: temperate and tropical waters of the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
As happy and cute as this pilot whale looks, don't be fooled! The photographer, Rory Moore, explains that even with its big, cartoonish grin, these 20-ft long predators can become quite aggressive. Sigh. Bummer.
Rory said that, "Some of the whales came up to the camera and started to blow bubbles and 'bark' loudly. It was an amazing thing to witness but it was actually a clear sign to keep our distance."
He says that there are horror stories about divers being drowned after having their arm grabbed and dragged into the deep. Eek!
Suddenly that "happy" grin doesn't seem so innocent anymore...
Rory said that, "Some of the whales came up to the camera and started to blow bubbles and 'bark' loudly. It was an amazing thing to witness but it was actually a clear sign to keep our distance."
He says that there are horror stories about divers being drowned after having their arm grabbed and dragged into the deep. Eek!
Suddenly that "happy" grin doesn't seem so innocent anymore...
3 comments:
Doesn't he look mysteriously like the same evil whale that swallowed Pinocchio and Geppetto??? Just saying... ;)
About 200 of these pilot whales washed up on the beach in Cape Town last year... It was so sad as people tried to get them back into the water for hours but in the end they had to be euthanized.
The autopsies revealed that the alpha male had a tumor in his brain and it is thought that that was the reason why he beached himself and his whole pod followed him.
I've seen video on Discovery Channel of a woman being dragged down by a pilot whale. He eventually let her go and she was not badly hurt. She was WAY too close - touching and hugging the whale. People think they can treat predators like teddy bears. It's amazing they don't attack more often.
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