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New tricks

Off the Falkland Islands, a remarkable adult killer whale shows her young pup how to catch elephant seals that are hiding in the shallows. But just as importantly, the half-beached mother must also teach the pup how to get away again…

This small pod of killer whales could only survive off the waters of the Falkland Islands by being opportunists. Normally, young elephant seals are safe in the shallows of their nursery pools close to the shore, but the pod of killer whales has a very special female. She returns to the same spot every year, just as the young elephants seals start to swim in the shallows and she knows how to get them. Negotiating the narrow channel into the pool is her first challenge. She waits in ambush in the slightly deeper waters at the mouth of the channel and waits for the seals to venture in her direction. It is extremely risky for the whale, as any wrong decision or change in tide could leave both herself and her calf stranded and in danger. A splash alerts her to a seal who has strayed from the shallows. She moves towards it with her calf but is kept back by the ledge the seal is lodged on. She tries to create a wave to knock the seal off into the deeper water. When that doesn't work, she edges into the shallows, risking all. Half beached, and with the seal finally in her mouth, she struggles to get back to the safe deep.She is the only killer whale on the planet that knows how to hunt these seals in this way, and crucially she is passing on this information to her calf.

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