Orcas are good-looking creatures. Their distinct black-and-white features lend themselves well to stuffed animal versions, and might make you think these animals are the pandas of the sea. But there's a reason they're also called killer whales. Hint: this is not a photo of interspecies friendship.
Scientists from the National Marine Fisheries Service (part of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) studied killer whales off the coast of Antarctica. They report that a certain group, which they've dubbed pack ice (PI) killer whales, are specialized hunters. They use a clever cooperative hunting technique to kill seals, such as the hapless fellow above who's doing an impression of a burrito on a plate.
The group hunting technique is called "wave washing," and it works like this: After identifying their target sitting on a piece of pack ice, a group of killer whales swims a little ways away from it. Then ...
