[Draxzula]

Hi Newbie here.

Sorry for bringing life back into this topic a year and a half after it was locked, but i felt i had to post about it that a russian guy called Paulwhale would defend that no other animal can kill a Sperm Whale as its pure size was too much for anything to kill it.He kept going on how Sperm Whales could sink boats with its huge head and teeth and a swish from its tail can cause lots of damage also.He ruled out attacks from giant squids and great white sharks would cause mere pin pricks on a huge whale of 150 tons maybe this is true but he made the mistake that Orca's wouldn't stand a chance either! Not true....An Orca is part of the Dolphin family which makes it rather a smart animal indeed you mix that with speed and agility along with a killer instinct you get a highly skilled killing machine.We already know that Dolphins are capable of killing sharks a lot bigger than themselves with speed and also out smart a large shark. Orca's are pretty much the same as Dolphins but on a much larger scale and they also have more ferocity in attacks.Now with a Killer Whale being smart and all that its not going to be stupid enough to ram a Sperm Whale head on or hang around the Sperm Whales tail too much so its going to attack from above or below where the Sperm Whale is most vulnerable. Although Sperm Whales are fairly immune from predators particularly large Bulls, Orca's are perhaps its only one predator and they have even also thought to have preyed upon the fearsome Megalodons and as the link below shows don't f*** with Orca's.

http://findarticles....i_53378967/pg_3

[ivytheplant]

I bet humans could kill sperm whales.

[sadistic jellyfish of doom]

Yeah, real nice. Unfortunately, sperm whales aren't undiscovered animals.

[CaitSith]

Yeah this should be in natural world

[frogfish]

Orcas have mobbed Sperm Whale cows and killed them.

[Draxzula]

Quote

I bet humans could kill sperm whales.

I'm pretty sure they can, but i think we are talking more about other animals rather than humans who have to use weapons like Harpoons.

[Clobhair-cean]

If inhaled, even a wallaby could kill any sperm whale...

[Opus Magnus]

Orcas hunt in groups. A group of orcas could easily bring down a sperm whale I think. Now a single orca vs a sperm whale is a different story.

[SilverCougar]

Humans have hunted and killed sperm whales centuries ago. ;P Well heck even right into the mid of last century. Mainly for what gives the sperm whale it's name. Inside a cavity in the whale's head holds this fine fatty substence that was used for lamp oils and lubrications for verious machines. Even the space shuttles use it... (though Nasa only has a certain amount remaining since hunting sperm whales had become illegal)

[ivytheplant]

A group of orcas can take down female sperm whales, but not so much the males. Not sure about the squids though. Squids are prey for sperm whales, not vice versa. If any squids managed to take down a sperm whale, we haven't seen it yet.

[Conspiracy]

orca's only go after baby and female sperm whales, if its a bull then its a totally different story, if a bull comes to a pod of orca's then the orca's flee like babies

[CaitSith]

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orca's only go after baby and female sperm whales, if its a bull then its a totally different story, if a bull comes to a pod of orca's then the orca's flee like babies

Is this documented?

[Tucuxi]

I've never personally heard of an instance of a pod or orcas taking down a sperm whale, but I'm willing to bet money it has happened. I know the transient mammal eating orcas off of the Pacific coast of the United Stated have killed and eaten gray whale calves. They do this by wedging their bodies between the mother and calf, then they body slam the calf until it becomes exhausted and the group can more easily hold it beneath the surface to drown it. I'll bet the orcas would go after sperm whale calves in a similar manner. However, unlike gray whales, sperm whales have teeth and they are much faster. A lone orca would not stand a chance against a fully grown sperm whale. I would never underestimate a pod of orcas, though. Just because sperm whales are not members of the dolphin family does not mean they are less intelligent than the the members of delphinidae. Sperm whales have highly developed social orders and we believe they are capable, like dolphins, of logic and reasoning. Beaked whales are thought to be similarly capapble, especially those who frequently interact with their other members of their species. That being said, I simply doubt a pod of orca would bother with the extremely difficult task of killing a sperm whale. It does not seem worth their while. It's almost certain there will be something not too far away that would be much easier to kill and far less dangerous. As a side note, when orcas kill a large cetacean, they usually only eat the tongue and the blubber. The only way I can see a pod of orcas attacking a sperm whale is if they attacked an injured/sick/old individual in SHALLOW waters. A healthy individual in the deep pelagic ocean could easily escape simply by diving. Orcas cannot dive nearly as deep or hold their breath as long as a sperm whale.

This post has been edited by Tucuxi: 11 December 2006 - 03:59 PM

[ninjashoes]

Paulwhale is a legend of this forum

[Tucuxi]

ninjashoes-
I don't know if that was directed towards me, but my post wasn't meant to discredit paulwhale, I was just giving my insight.