The ingenious strategy of ‘Moctezuma’ and his band of orcas to hunt whale sharks in Mexico | Science | EUROtoday

Montezuma, The final Aztec emperor, earlier than the Spanish invasion, is the identify chosen by researchers to baptize a male orca that stars in subtle hunts by a pod of orcas in opposition to whale sharks within the Gulf of California (Mexico). “It measures at least nine meters and we estimate that it is around 50 years old because it had already been photoidentified in 1988 on Ángel de la Guarda Island. It is healthy and strong,” says Erick Higuera, a marine biologist who has specialised in observing and photographing marine life for nearly 30 years. When Montezuma hunts, advances stealthily by means of the ocean. It likes to assault the pelvic space of ​​its prey to reap the benefits of the liver, which is massive sufficient to offer a complete meal for all members of the clan.

Higuera is co-author of a brand new examine, which is revealed this Friday within the journal Frontiers in Marine Science and meticulously portrays the searching conduct of the band of orcas of Montezuma in opposition to the most important fish within the sea. The scientists, led by Francesca Pancaldi, a researcher on the Interdisciplinary Center for Marine Sciences of La Paz (within the Mexican state of Baja California Sur), compiled photos captured between 2018 and 2024 within the south of the gulf, because of materials supplied by vacationers and fishermen. of the world, whose desert land space contrasts with the biodiversity that exists underneath water: virtually 40 kinds of cetaceans and 100 species of sharks that transfer between mangroves, rocky reefs and seamounts. “These attacks had already been reported in several areas of the Mexican Pacific. Let’s say that this is the first time it has been described in detail,” Pancaldi clarifies.

Each orca has distinctive traits, equivalent to fingerprint in human beings. The orcas of this pod have been recognized by analyzing pictures of their dorsal fins, the saddle – the sample of the white spot positioned on the again – or the attention patch, which varies between every specimen, along with elements distinctive options equivalent to scars and wounds. Of the 4 searching occasions recorded, scientists realized that Montezuma He participated in all of them. “I realized that they were the same individuals all the time, there was a strategy and a directed objective,” says Higuera.

In the hunt, all members of the pack, led by a matriarch, take part in beating the prey till it turns the other way up. According to Pancaldi, whale sharks have small tooth and are comparatively sluggish. The solely approach for these animals to defend themselves is to hit the tail of their attackers and dive, since they’ll attain a depth of two,000 meters; For this cause, the orcas attempt to maintain them on the floor.

Jessica Rodríguez, head of training and communication on the Davey’s Locker whale watching company (in Newport Beach, USA), signifies that usually orcas hunt collectively like wolves on land, coordinating particular ways. “If you are watching orcas in Mexico, which feed on mammals like whales, dolphins and sea lions, they are going to have different feeding strategies. The oldest female transmits this generational knowledge,” says Rodríguez, who was not a part of the brand new examine.

Ricardo Aguilar, director of analysis in Europe on the NGO Oceana, thinks the identical, explaining that the majority teams of orcas are completely different and have studying processes which are fairly quick. “This causes the entire group to end up learning this new behavior and integrating it,” says the knowledgeable, who didn’t take part within the analysis that has simply been revealed. Oceanic dolphins, group of mammals marine to which the orcas belong, They have one of many largest brains in relation to physique measurement, permitting them to develop extraordinary skills. They are sociable animals and have a very good reminiscence, elements that probably assure the success of capturing prey in “the world’s aquarium,” as oceanographer Jacques Cousteau outlined the extension of the Pacific Ocean that occupies the Gulf of California.

Although this gulf is likely one of the most numerous habitats on the planet, marine animals are susceptible as a result of they’re uncovered to collisions with boats, an issue that has elevated because of high-speed maritime visitors. The boats, says Francesca Pancaldi, typically go “very fast” in sure areas.

Naming the orcas was a method that the researchers devised to generate empathy from the neighborhood, fishermen and even vacationers. “People liked the Aztec names and the collaboration has been very successful,” says Erick Higuera. Fabiola Guerrero de la Rosa, a marine biologist on the University of Baja California Sur, factors out that the extra info folks get, the extra cautious they are going to be. “It is not the only place that has been named after orcas. In British Columbia (Canada) the life and work of each one of them is known, from the mother to the grandmother. Giving them names helps to identify them and give them a story behind them,” he says.

There is one other male orca, with “several battles” mirrored in his pores and skin, which scientists named Cuitlahuacjust like the brother of Montezuma and penultimate huey tlatoani (nice orator or ruler, in language Nahuatl) of the Aztec dynasty. “After seeing them in the sea for so long, the eye gets used to them. It’s like when a bird constantly visits the patio of your house, you become familiar,” displays Higuera.