All the following paper was recently published in the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK Killer whale (Orcinus orca) occurrence and predation in the Bahamas
by, Charlotte Dunn and Diane Claridge Abstract: Killer whales (Orcinus orca) have a cosmopolitan distribution, yet little is known about populations that inhabit tropical waters. We compiled 34 sightings of killer whales in the Bahamas, recorded from 1913 to 2011. Group sizes were generally small (mean 4.2, range 1–12, SD 2.6). Thirteen sightings were documented with photographs and/or video of sufficient quality to allow individual photo-identification analysis. Of the 45 whales photographed, 14 unique individual killer whales were identified, eight of which were re-sighted between two and nine times. An adult female (Oo6) and a now-adult male (Oo4), were first seen together in 1995, and have been re-sighted together eight times over a 16-yr period. To date, killer whales in the Bahamas have only been observed preying on marine mammals, including Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis), Fraser’s dolphin (Lagenodelphis hosei), pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps) and dwarf sperm whale (Kogia sima), all of which are previously unrecorded prey species for Orcinus orca. Full citation details: Charlotte Dunn and Diane Claridge. Killer whale (Orcinus orca) occurrence and predation in the Bahamas. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, available on CJO2013. doi:10.1017/S0025315413000908. it is available here: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8966150 or pdf requests can be made to myself [email protected] kind regards Charlotte Charlotte Dunn Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation www.bahamaswhales.org http://biology.st-andrews.ac.uk/staffProfile.aspx?sunID=cw246 +1 242 366 4155 +1 242 577 0655 (cell) +44 7789 097029 (UK cell)
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