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Posted Wed Aug 12 2009: from
BBC:
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Killer whales and 'social clubs' http://apocadocs.com/s.pl?1250106391
Killer whales create and visit social clubs just like people do, scientists have discovered....
But no-one knew why the whales form these huge superpods, when they normally live in smaller groups.
Now scientists report in the Journal of Ethology that these groups act as clubs in which the killer whales form and maintain social ties.
Fish-eating killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the Avacha Gulf live in stable groups called pods that contain an average of ten individuals and up to 20 in the largest pods.
But researchers have seen up to eight of these pods coming together to form large groups of up to 100 animals.... "As far as the eye can see, in every direction you see groupings of two to six killer whales surfacing, spouting then dipping below the surface."
"Each grouping has a focal mother figure surrounded by her offspring, some of whom may be full grown males with up to 2m dorsal fins that tower over the females," he says.... "The superpods are like big social clubs," says Hoyt. "These clubs could help them stay acquainted, could be part of the courting process but could have other functions that we need to learn about."
Maintaining social bonds is crucial for many social mammals which live and hunt together.
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[Read more stories about:
marine mammals, hunting to extinction]
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'Doc Jim says:
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Let's just agree that we never again kill any animal whose family will miss it. How about that for a simple rule?
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