INVESTIGADORES
GARCIA BORBOROGLU Jorge Pablo
artículos
Título:
Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) Predation on Sharks in Patagonia, Argentina: A First Report
Autor/es:
REYES, L.; GARCIA BORBOROGLU, P.
Revista:
AQUATIC MAMMALS
Editorial:
Western Illinois University
Referencias:
Lugar: Illinois; Año: 2004 vol. 30 p. 376 - 379
ISSN:
0167-5427
Resumen:
On 21 December 1998, four killer whales (an
adult male, two females or immature males, and
one juvenile) attacked a group of sevengill sharks
(Notorhynchus cepedianus) off the coast of Caleta
Malaspina, Chubut, Argentina. Persecution,
catches, and tossing behavior were performed by
the two females or immature males in the inlet.
Next day, carcasses of several sharks were found
on the beach adjacent to the attack area. Seven
of them were intact and sized approximately 2.5
m in length. The presence of complete sevengill
shark carcasses on the beach suggests that they
were attempting to avoid capture by the killer
whales by stranding on the beach. Attacks on
sevengills by killer whales in Caleta Malaspina
are frequent in some years, especially from mid-
December to mid-January when the sevengill
seems to use the inlet as a nursery ground. The
observation of the same male feeding both on pinnipeds
in Peninsula Valdes and on sharks in Caleta
Malaspina may indicate that at least some groups
in the Southwestern Atlantic could regularly feed
on both fish and marine mammals. This is the first
report of an attack of killer whales on sharks off
the coast of Patagonia, and the first report of tossing
behavior in sharks.