An article in the Oct 16 issue of Science links the recent decline in the sea otter population to a change in the dietary habits of killer whales. The idea is that a scarcity of sea lions and seals, in turn due to overfishing by humans, may have forced the hungry cetaceans to start preying on otters. On a related note, see the 12/98-1/99 issue of Natural History magazine for a description of an attack on a group of sperm whales by a pod of orcas. It gives a vivid impression of what those rows of big, sharp teeth are used for. There is a suggestion here that there are two types of orcas: the inshore group, which tends to be fish-eaters, and the offshore population, more likely to be flesh-eaters. But sea otters tend to be coastal critters, don't they? I wonder if the writing is on the wall for kayakers in waters where the blackfish swim... AMG Arthur M. Greene amg52_at_columbia.edu *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Dec 02 1998 - 13:46:15 PST
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