#False killer whale

[namu-the-orca]

Here it finally is, the full cetacean eye colour info sheet! A long time coming, and an even longer time in the making. I hope that all you cetacean eye curious people will find this one as fascinating as the killer whale eye colour post. It’s a wild world out there! 

[pazzesco]

Turns out, I wasn't the only one fishing for Mahi Mahi...

[cambriancutie]

diva of the deep

[bjekkergauken]

Mermaidsona chilling in Galapagos

[nessiefynn]

False Killer Whale

[inatungulates]

False killer whale Pseudorca crassidens

Observed by pelonchino, CC BY-NC

[aquatark]

White Room - Great Aqua Cave

Endless Ocean, Nintendo Wii

mildly interesting eo trivia: in the japanese version of this game, the iron pearl of manoa lai is an unusually big and round cave pearl, called the "mermaid's tear"!

this is why it appears in a nest of smaller cave pearls in its zoom - real-life cave pearls (small spherical calcite formations created in limestone caves) also tend to form in nests!

why did they change it to a strange metal ball (which, bonus fact, has its texture taken from a photo of the rosetta stone) internationally? beats me! maybe the localizers thought not enough people know what cave pearls are?

[rustandsky]

Art trade with GalliumCore!

[artofsoul1999]

Almost forgot to upload again. Oops.

Anyway, here's a painting of Guillaume with his pseudorca friends, Keto and Koharu.

[local-hellhound-steals-spaghetti]

False Killer Whales die on a reef after being prevented from stranding - we need to talk about this

I know that people want to be optimistic or believe that whales aren't intentionally stranding but. I don't think we should be preventing them from stranding - especially uneducated locals who have no education in cetacean rescue.

A stranding of about 40 false killer whales in New Zealand was "prevented" by locals trying to herd the whales back out to sea this afternoon - despite the whales showing obvious signs of distress (thrashing around, vocalising ect.)

"At 4.30pm, locals were in a human chain and following the pod along the beach, working to prevent the whales from stranding on the outgoing tide."

Only for them to restrand at an inaccessible reef.

"Upon accessing the reef, DOC rangers found almost 40% of the pod had perished while others were badly injured, and the difficult decision was made to euthanize the remaining whales to end their suffering."

The whales were looking for a place to strand for a REASON.

I know it's devastating to see them die, but I wonder if they hadn't been prevented from stranding whether they would have had more of a chance at being triaged by professionals and the healthy whales refloated. Rather than the whole pod dying like this.

Instead people decided to interfere with natural behaviour and caused these (likely already sick and dying) animals to have to find another place to strand where they wouldn't be harassed. I wonder if those injuries were caused by the animals being too weak to swim against the tides and being cut up on the reef or dashed against rocks.

There's also people furious with DOC about euthanising the whales and "not allowing the (untrained and unqualified) locals to help" despite it being the obviously most humane option for these very injured and sick whales.

New Zealand whale politics is crazy... It honestly blows my mind at how ignorant some people are about appropriate whale rescue protocols and how euthanasia is needed to prevent ongoing suffering of dying stranded whales.

New Zealand also has no cetacean rehabilitation facilities and therefore no other option but to euthanise whales and dolphins that strand and restrand. It's a tragic and devastating outcome but it also really needs to be talked about:

Should we be preventing dolphins and whales from stranding by harassing them and blocking them from reaching shallow water? And is it fair to cause them stress to prevent stranding if they're potentially already dying/sick/injured?

[namu-the-orca]

What color are orcas' eyes?

In short, mostly brown. In long, it's a bit complicated as Killer whales (and for that matter, all cetaceans) have multi coloured eyes! Unlike us humans, who have a singular coloured iris and a white sclera, cetacean eyes come in more flavours. Their iris is circled by a pale ring of varying colour, and the surrounding sclera is more often than not coloured too, sometimes even bi-colored. I have actually been working on a cetacean eye-colour-chart thing so I have some neat illustrations ready.

Here you can see the components that make up a cetacean's eye. It should be noted though that when relaxed, the eyelids cover much of it, leaving almost only the iris visible. As an example: a Harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). On the left a clear view of the eye in its totality; on the right as visible in life.

Onto the whale in question. All cetaceans have beautiful brown irises: in many it is an unbelievably rich reddish hue when sunlight hits it directly. In shadow or underwater it looks more subdued though. Then comes the pale ring which in Killer whales is quite variable: in some animals it is very pale, almost white, while others have beautiful bright blue rings. The sclera appears two-toned in blackfish as far as I've seen. Killer whales have a rather modest dark brown area of sclera around the iris-pale-ring-combo, with the surrounding "base" sclera reddish pink. For comparison, False killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) have a bit more substantive dark brown sclera area, with the surrounding sclera a striking bright red.

I hope this answers your question! This makes me want to finish this chart haha so maybe that'll come soon-ish in its totality.

[sharktopia]

Cetacean appreciate post!

I created this art to help fund the nonprofit endeavor "cetaceans.org" - created by Peggy Oki (Origami Whales Project), Madison O'Connell, and Sharktopia!

www.cetaceans.org exists for the sole purpose of helping you take action for cetaceans. Please swim over, follow the socials, and help 'our' beloved cetaceans!

You can help support this nonprofit project by purchasing a print and/or card set: www.sharktopia.org/shop (100% donated)

Thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu <3

[unofficial-sean]

We are renaming the false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens). Cast your vote:

[vintagewildlife]

'Swifty,' the first false killer whale to ever be displayed in captivity By: Unknown photographer 1960s

[wholphintooth]

Fishmarket

[largemandrill]

I feel so bad for False Killer Whales. Imagine scientists thinking you’re extinct, so they name you after your very famous cousin based on skull alone, then when they see your gay ass in the ocean alive and well (Coelacanth style) and you look nothing like Orca from accounting they don’t even change your name.