Whale culture just like human | Inquirer Technology

Whale culture just like human

/ 02:57 PM June 02, 2016

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Orcas are behaviorally flexible and are able to adapt their hunting methods depending on local conditions.

Human culture is one of the many things that help us define our humanity. Coincidentally, according to an article published in New Scientist, orcas, too, have their own culture, which drives their evolution.

Orcas are versatile hunters that are able to adapt to most environments and have a tendency to form family groups that remain in a single area. This behavior is what leads certain groups to develop specialized hunting methods, thereby creating their own hunting “culture.” Hunting skills developed by the adults are then passed on to juveniles, causing the younger generation to become more acclimated and better adapted to hunting a particular prey down to a genetic level.

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This is not too different from our ancestors when they first colonized deserts, rainforests, mountains and plains.

While there are many other factors that contribute to an organism’s evolutionary track, such as ecology and genetics, experts are confident that culture plays a major role in the evolution of the intelligent and social orcas. Alfred Bayle

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TOPICS: evolution, fisheries, killer whale, orca
TAGS: evolution, fisheries, killer whale, orca

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