Did notoriously aggressive orcas just save a humpback whale from certain death?

(Image credit: Whale Lookout man Western Commonwealth of australia/YouTube)

In some extraordinary drone footage, whale researchers announced to take seen a pod of orcas helping to free a humpback whale from rope line that was entangling its tail.

At first, researchers from Whale Spotter Western Australia thought that the orcas were there to attack and kill the humpback whale, which was visibly injured and weakened–precisely the kinds of piece of cake kills that predators like orcas rarely pass up.

The first orca on the scene, a male person dubbed Hookfin by the researchers, was soon followed past another male, named Bract who approached the injured whale at loftier speed, passing directly under information technology.

"Matriarch Queen arrived and moved towards the Humpback Whale which caused a commotion of white water and then something incredible happened…a large clamper of the green rope that was entangling this Humpback Whale floated gratis behind him," Whale Scout Western Commonwealth of australia wrote in its description of the issue attached to the YouTube video.

Shortly after, the pod of orcas went on their way, leaving the humpback whale unharmed, which calmly swam abroad in the opposite management.

"The incredible fact that the Orca managed to rid nearly of the rope from this whale before letting him swim away freely was truly fascinating," the grouping wrote, "did the Orca deliberately rescue this Humpback or was the decision made that due to his ill health the effort of the chase was not worth the energy reward at the stop."

It's an interesting question since orcas, also known equally killer whales, are apex predators and pack hunters who are more than capable of taking downward much larger prey. In fact, co-ordinate to Live Science, the original nick proper name given to them by sailors was "whale killers," having observed their ferocious and bold attacks on their casualty.

Orca pods accept been observed biting onto the fins of a larger whale and turning information technology on its back to drag information technology down underwater, Live Science notes. Unable to surface for air, the whale drowns, which is remarkable since orcas besides demand to surface for air, only are able to hold out longer than their prey in this instance.

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Its an open question whether the orcas were saving the whale or only didn't feel like eating it, but it wouldn't be the first time orcas demonstrated complex social behaviors.

Orcas are especially intelligent and appear to have similar and well-developed regions in their brains that are usually associated with emotional intelligence and empathy in humans.

They also have very complex social development that might allow for interspecies cooperation, even with species that they would otherwise prey upon. Humans eat all manner of animals, after all, simply nosotros are still capable of empathy and fifty-fifty amore for animals that brand up part of our nutrition, even to the point of swearing off meat entirely.

That said, orcas are still some of the biggest bullies in the sea. Equally Whale Watch Western Australia notes, after their encounter with the humpback whale, the pod "spent a boisterous twenty-four hours of socializing together and harassing Sunfish instead."

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John (He/Him) is a Computing Staff Writer here at TechRadar and is also a developer, gamer, activist, and Brooklyn College alum currently living in Brooklyn, NY.

Named by the CTA as a CES 2020 Media Trailblazer for his science and applied science reporting, John specializes in all areas of information science, including industry news, hardware reviews, PC gaming, as well as general science writing and the social bear upon of the tech industry.

You can find him online on Twitter at @thisdotjohn

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