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Killer whales filmed off Scotland
A massive pod of up to 50 killer whales has been filmed for the first time off the coast of Scotland. Gordon Buchanan, presenter of BBC Autumnwatch, filmed the whales as they approached a fishing boat to feed on mackerel that had escaped the fishing nets.
The pod of killer whales caught on camera belong to a family group that has developed a particular hunting strategy - following mackerel fishermen and feeding on fish that escape their nets. As the nets are brought to the surface and into the boat, the killer whales approach and come alongside, giving fishermen and the BBC Autumnwatch team a grandstand view of the pod in action. The killer whales pick of any escaping mackerel and also feed off scraps as the nets are later lowered back into the water to be washed clean. The tenacious behaviour reveals an unlikely alliance between fishermen and predators of fish. As the largest member of the dolphin family, killer whales are known for their intelligence and range of hunting behaviours.
Scientists first documented this behaviour in the 1980s and fishermen in Scotland have seen the behaviour develop since. It is a behaviour that is seen all around the world although in Scotland the fishermen are reported to love the whales and don't regard them as pests. They simply go after mackerel that are stuck in the nets or escaping, not the fishermen's catch, nor do they damage the nets.
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These specific killer whales are thought to be a distinct family, unrelated to killer whales found in Shetland or others that hunt herring off Iceland and follow the migration of mackerel from the Norwegian sea, past Shetland and down the west coast of Ireland and Britain possibly as far as the Portuguese coast. Killer whales that feed on mackerel have been found to have very worn down teeth as a result of their feeding behaviour. Scientists believe it is a result of how they suck up the fish one at a time which along with the abrasive nature of salt water, wears their teeth down. Similarly worn teeth are also seen in other suction feeders such as sperm whales.
Gordon Buchanan presenter and cameraman on the BBC series Autumnwatch has been living aboard the working fishing boat with one other BBC colleague in an effort to capture the killer whales on film and they have certainly achieved their aims!
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