Northland orca expert Ingrid Visser co-authors global study on orcas sharing prey with people
Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Northland orca expert Ingrid Visser has co-authored a special study about orcas sharing food with humans. Photo / NZME
Northland orca expert Ingrid Visser has been involved in a global study that shows killer whales attempting to share prey with people.
The authors of the study found 34 instances of wild killer whales approaching humans and offering food including freshly acquired fishes, mammals and even invertebrates.
The orcas were documented undertaking the unusual practice in four oceans for more than two decades.
The whales approached people, dropped the item and awaited a response.
Visser said these cases provide opportunities for orcas to practise learned cultural behaviour, explore or play and in so doing learn about and potentially develop relationships with people.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
4 days ago
- NZ Herald
Parts of the east Antarctic ice sheet are thought to be particularly susceptible to climate change
Adelie penguins on an iceberg near Paulet Island at the tip of the Antarctica Peninsula. Photo / Tomas Munita via the New York Times Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech. Already a subscriber? Sign in here Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen. Parts of the east Antarctic ice sheet are thought to be particularly susceptible to climate change Adelie penguins on an iceberg near Paulet Island at the tip of the Antarctica Peninsula. Photo / Tomas Munita via the New York Times Landscapes left behind by ancient rivers and buried beneath the Antarctic ice may affect the rate of ice loss, researchers report in Nature Geoscience. The team used radio echo sounding, a technique that measures ice thickness using radar, to study the east Antarctic ice sheet between Princess Elizabeth Land and George V Land in Antarctica. Parts of the ice sheet are thought to be particularly susceptible to climate change because the land beneath it contains huge troughs that let warming ocean water reach the ice, causing rapid shrinking. Radar measurements of the thickness elevation of the ice revealed a 2100 mile (3380km) stretch of previously undiscovered flat surfaces beneath the ice. The surfaces had never been mapped.
NZ Herald
24-07-2025
- NZ Herald
A team of researchers sifted through 57 previous studies that covered 160,000 people
New research suggests people should aim for at least an hour's walking exercise across a day. Photo / 123RF Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech. Already a subscriber? Sign in here Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen. A team of researchers sifted through 57 previous studies that covered 160,000 people New research suggests people should aim for at least an hour's walking exercise across a day. Photo / 123RF People who walk 7000 steps a day have a dramatically lower risk of a broad range of serious health problems, the largest review of the evidence yet said today. The most widely promoted target for people tracking their number of steps is 10,000 - but that figure reportedly originally came from a 1960s marketing campaign for a Japanese pedometer. To find a more scientific target, an international team of researchers sifted through 57 previous studies that covered 160,000 people. The results published in the Lancet Public Health journal found that walking 7000 steps a day nearly halved people's risk of early death from all causes, compared to 2000 steps. The study also looked into health problems not previously covered by research into step counts.
NZ Herald
18-07-2025
- NZ Herald
Man wearing neck chain is pulled into MRI machine during a scan in New York, police say
MRI machines use magnets and radio frequency currents to produce detailed anatomical images. 123rf Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read. Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech. Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen. Man wearing neck chain is pulled into MRI machine during a scan in New York, police say MRI machines use magnets and radio frequency currents to produce detailed anatomical images. 123rf A man who entered an MRI room during a scan in Westbury, New York, yesterday was pulled into the machine by his chain necklace and was hospitalised in critical condition, authorities said. The man, who is 61, was wearing a 'large metallic chain' around his neck when he entered the room at Nassau Open MRI at about 4.34pm local time, according to the Nassau County Police Department, on Long Island. The man, whom the police did not name, did not have authorisation to enter the room, authorities said. Nassau Open MRI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. MRI machines use magnets and radio frequency currents to produce detailed anatomical images.
