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Watch two humpback whales desperately try to save a seal from hungry orcas

The orcas get petty about it in the end.

Canva Photos & By Ecohotel, CC BY-SA 3.0

Humpback whales have been observed going out of their way to rescue seals from killer whale attacks.

Orcas, sometimes called killer whales, are the ultimate apex predators. They are physically imposing, for starters: fast, powerful, and vicious. But they're also brilliant and are generally considered one of the smartest animals on the planet. It's their brains that truly make them elite hunters.

If you need an example of how proficient they are at killing, they purposefully hunt and eat great white sharks along with their steady diet of fish and seals. Typically, they hunt great whites in groups, but a single orca is more than capable of easily handling what is usually considered one of the scariest and deadliest creatures in the ocean.

Orcas have a variety of incredible hunting techniques at their disposal. They're best known for their "wave wash" move, in which a pod of orcas will swim full speed at an ice block and create a huge wave to knock off any seals that may be sheltering on it. They also "karate chop" sharks with their tails and flip them upside down, causing the sharks to go into a state of near paralysis, making them an easy meal. Orcas can even take on much larger species of whales by preventing them from reaching the surface to breathe and drowning them.

In other words, when a pod or orcas zeroes in on potential prey, there's almost nothing that can stop the hunt. Except maybe a humpback whale.

orcas, killer whales, humpback whales, ocean, wildlife, ocean life, marine life, national geographic, viral videos, nature, animals They look so friendly, but they're the ultimate hunters. Giphy

Humpback whales have been displaying a strange behavior lately.

The whales have been caught purposefully disrupting orca hunts. It's almost as if they're trying to save the seals and other animals once killer whales set their sights on them. It's likely a behavior that's been happening for a long time, but it's become extremely well-documented in just the last couple of decades.

A team from National Geographic recently caught one such encounter on film in the waters of Antarctica.

In the video, a pod of orcas is spotted by explorer Bertie Gregory as they zero in on a Weddell seal perched atop a chunk of ice. The whales ready themselves for their famous "wave wash" move, charging together at the ice block...but no wave comes.

“They swam under the chunk of ice, just like they normally do, but we could see no breaking wave, and we were like, ‘Oh, they must have messed it up,” says Gregory according to National Geographic. “But instead they were making an underwater shockwave.”

The whales were impressively able to destroy the seal's ice perch from below, sending him into the water, where the hunt was on. But pretty quickly, it became apparent that the seal had backup.

“Then, all of a sudden, two humpback whales just turn up,” says Gregory. “They do this amazing trumpeting noise [that’s] so loud, it reverberates in the hull of the boat, like an elephant trumpeting.”

Though not as speedy, nimble, or vicious, humpback whales are quite a bit larger than orcas; making their presence pretty disruptive. The filmmaking team firmly believed that the humpbacks were purposefully trying to protect the seal and screw up the hunt. In many cases just like this one, the humpbacks are successful at driving the orcas away.

Sadly for the seal, the humpbacks arrived too late this time. The orcas even appeared to gloat with their kill afterward. A little petty, but the killer whales were understandably annoyed.

Watch the whole fascinating incident here:

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Despite their size, getting tangled up with a pod of hungry orcas is extremely dangerous for a humpback whale. So why risk their lives trying to save some random seal?

Orcas regularly take down great whites, one of the ocean's top predators, and have even been known to hunt blue whales—the largest animal on the planet! So no matter how big you are, you probably don't want to mess with a pod of killer whales.

Some people, experts included, see the seal-saving behavior as a sign of altruism. Altruism, of course, referring to a selfless action—one in which there's no inherent benefit for the whale. Humpback whales: Protectors of the ocean. Has a nice ring to it, right?

Another incredible seal-saving incident was observed in 2009. In this case, the humpbacks were successful in saving the seal, with one of them actually carrying it on its belly to shield it from the orcas. If that's not altruistic, I don't know what is.

A more likely explanation, however, is that the humpbacks are launching proactive attacks on orcas in response to killer whales regularly hunting their calves.

"I think they just have a simple rule," marine ecologist Robert Pitman told Science.org. "When you hear a killer whale attack, go break it up."

orcas, killer whales, humpback whales, ocean, wildlife, ocean life, marine life, national geographic, viral videos, nature, animals Humpback whales live by a simple rule: Troll the orcas whenever possible. Giphy

It's similar to an animal behavior called "mobbing," where groups of prey animals will band together to drive predators out. In a 2022 study published on Science Direct, Nora V. Carlson and Michael Griesser write, "Mobbing is an important anti-predator behavior where prey harass and attack a predator to lower the immediate and long-term risk posed by it, warn others, and communicate about the predator's threat."

Humpbacks have strong memories, and they may remember and even have trauma from previous killer whale attacks. So, they probably figure: let's go get them before they get us!

All that being said, altruistic behaviors do exist in the animal world. Animals of the same species or, particularly, ones that live in the same social group, often help each other or make sacrifices for the greater good. But cross-species cooperation does happen, too. Dolphins have been known to help stranded whales or even save humans from shark attacks. Many animals have been documented adopting orphaned young of another species.

In all of these cases, there may be some benefit to the animals that we don't understand. But it's a lot more fun to imagine, especially in the case of the humpbacks, that they're doing it just to be kind.

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If you don't think twice about the plastic strap around a package, here's why you should.

Picture a young sea lion — let's call him Joey — taking an afternoon swim along the coast of Alaska and coming upon a long, shiny plastic loop.

Of course, Joey doesn't know the loop is plastic. All he knows is that he's never seen something like this wriggling through the water before, and he'd love to play with it.  

"Sea lions are curious and playful creatures by nature," explains Sue Goodglick, a wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game program that studies and tracks Steller sea lions like Joey. So, she says, when they come across plastic objects like this, they usually like to play with it.

A Steller sea lion in southeast Alaska. Photo via Cale Green/Flickr.

Joey is only 2 years old — a juvenile — so playing is his top priority right now. It's how he practices hunting and swimming so he can be prepared for whatever life throws at him.

He doesn't know this plastic thing isn't a glimmering fish or a fun piece of kelp but something dangerous.

It probably got to the ocean after someone a little too eager to open their package of new hair products tossed it carelessly aside after unwrapping the box. When people don't take time to properly discard plastic items like package wrappings, these items can end up on the street and make their way to the ocean through storm drains and other waterways. And even if people do toss such items in the trash, if they are not secured, they are light enough to blow away and right into Joey's path.

Image via Wild Wind/Flickr.

Curious, Joey uses his whiskers, mouth, and flippers to check out this potential new toy.

He almost looks like he's dancing as he turns his head upside down, somersaults, and bops the packing strap with his nose. But as he plays, this strap easily gets stuck around his neck, and without "hands" to pull it off, the loop stays put, like a plastic necklace.

Plastic bands like this one, usually made to wrap around cardboard boxes, are created to be durable, so unlike other materials, they take a long time to degrade on their own. In fact, nobody knows for sure how long plastic takes to break down in the ocean, but estimates say it likely takes decades — maybe even up to 450 years for larger plastic items.

This means that as Joey grows, that plastic "necklace" doesn't come off. Instead, it gets tighter and tighter around him, like a noose, cutting into his skin and muscles. This can lead to infections, slow down his range of movement, suffocate him, or cause starvation and death because he can't move around to find food.

A Steller sea lion entangled in a packing band. Photo by Alaska Department of Fish and Game (research activities were conducted pursuant to a National Marine Fisheries Service permit).

Joey is far from the only sea lion to get hurt by plastic items. 8 million tons of plastic go into the ocean and hurt more than 800 species of animals every year.

These include marine critters like sea turtles, dolphins, whales, and fish. Some mistake plastic for food. Others, like Joey, get tangled up while playing or just swimming around. This is bad news for humans, too, because plastic has been showing up in our seafood after the fish we eat consume it.

"Many types of wildlife are simply unable to avoid encountering [marine debris]," Goodglick says, and Steller sea lions are one of them. Plastic packing bands like the one Joey found are particularly hard for sea lions to resist, making them one of the most dangerous and deadly plastic items. In fact, since 1980, the world population of Steller sea lions has fallen from 300,000 to less than 100,000 — and plastic packing bands are one of the reasons why.

Three plastic packing bands wrapped around a box. Photo by Alaska Department of Fish and Game (research activities were conducted pursuant to a National Marine Fisheries Service permit).

Declining Steller sea lion populations can have a huge effect because without them, the ocean ecosystem where they live can be thrown off balance due to what scientists call top-down trophic cascade. Sea lions are top-level predators, so their eating habits affect the population and behavior of their prey. Without enough of them to keep prey populations in check, other ocean resources can become depleted. Not only that, but sea lion poop is also important in providing essential nutrients for ocean life.

This is why Goodglick is so dedicated and passionate about making sure that we all help prevent further harm to ocean wildlife.

"We all need to take action to prevent new marine debris getting into our oceans and help clear out what's already there," she says.

Volunteers help clean debris from the beach. Image via Cindy Sabato/Compass Rose Beach ICC Cleanup/Flickr.

Making a difference doesn't even have to be complicated — we could all make a difference with a few simple changes.

We can "lose the loop" or cut items like packing bands before we throw them away. That way, if the item happens to cross Joey's path, it won't form a noose and entangle him.

We can also dispose of trash properly — recycle plastic materials, reuse them if you can, and secure garbage can lids so nothing blows away. And if we see someone else's trash on the beach, we still have a chance to grab and secure it before it ends up in the water for Joey to find. Plus, for those who live near the coast, there are always local shoreline cleanups looking for volunteers to help them get rid of the trash that's out there.

Image via Cale Green/Flickr.

But wherever we live, being mindful of our behavior using and disposing of plastic is still important. "Remember our lands and oceans are connected!" Goodglick says. When we rely on single-use plastic for everyday items like water bottles, we create more and more trash that can find its way to water systems through storm drains.

You probably don't feel like a hero when you cut a plastic packing band. But for marine life like Joey, it can be a  life-saving act.

Image via Carolyn J. Gudmundson/Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge/Wikimedia Commons.

And that means you're actually doing a favor for all of the rest of us, too. After all, the ocean provides us with food and nutrients — it sustains all life on this planet. So when that adorable, playful sea lion called Joey can't even get through an afternoon swim without a piece of plastic threatening his life, that's a bad sign for the rest of us. It means we're not caring for the very ocean that keeps us alive.

But when we make a few simple changes to keep plastic out of the ocean, we ensure a healthy planet for all of us. And Joey gets to enjoy his playtime in peace, satisfying his curiosity for life with seashells, kelp, and the other natural treasures he's meant to find.

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This diver's photos are spectacular. They also make an important statement.

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Ralph Pace’s career as a photographer didn’t start underwater. In fact, it started with a jaguar.

He'd decided to go to graduate school for oceanography, but before he could do so, he needed to get some research experience under his belt.

So he headed to Costa Rica.

“I was working on sea turtle projects, but it’s also one of the only places in the world that jaguars actually hunt in packs,” he says. “I called my brother and said, ‘Hey man, you won’t believe this!’ And it was kind of a typical brother thing — he sent me a camera and said ‘Prove it!’”

All photos by Ralph Pace, used with permission.

Pace didn’t grow up knowing he wanted to be a photographer, much less an underwater one. In fact, he was pre-med in college and hadn’t even been on a dive until he traveled abroad to Australia.

But once he realized the ocean was his calling, he headed to Scripps Institute of Oceanography. And after his encounter with the jaguars, he quickly realized he wanted to pair his newfound photography skills with his love of the ocean.

It didn’t take long for Pace to turn his camera toward the water to start telling stories about conservation.

He already had a passion for the environment itself. And when he started doing photography work on conservation projects, he quickly discovered a strong preference for working with scientists when taking his photos.

“They’re gonna show you the best stuff in the best way, in such a way that you know you’re not harming any animals,” he says. “Those are really the guys on the front lines of conservation.”

He started reaching out to scientists he already knew from his graduate work at Scripps and began going on projects involving sea turtles, sturgeon, swordfish, and more. Slowly, he went from simply documenting the projects to actually using his photos to tell important stories that he felt people needed to hear — landing him on the front lines of the conservation movement too.

Pace doesn’t take photos of just anything — he goes out of his way to find stories that no one has heard and bring them to light.

In many cases, that means traveling to places that most people can’t reach and will likely never get to see themselves.

“You show people this incredible world that they kinda didn’t even know existed,” he says. After all, “How do you get somebody excited about something if they can’t picture it, can’t relate to it?”

By bringing unreachable sights to people through his photos, Pace is able to bring the support to the causes they represent — like ocean conservation.

And that, he says, is the power of photography.

"With photos you have a really unique opportunity to grab someone’s attention," he says. "You take a famous photo of, say, the 'Afghan Girl' that Steve McCurry took for the cover of National Geographic. You take that picture, and it grabs everyone’s attention and they read an article about it, and at the end of it people are sending millions of dollars to refugees abroad."

Being a photographic trailblazer doesn’t always mean traveling the world though. Sometimes, it means staying put and finding stories nearby.

“I think you’re a lot more valuable if you can work in your backyard and tell stories that are close to home,” Pace says. “I tell people I’m going out to work with sea turtles in San Diego and they say, ‘There are no sea turtles here!’ They’ve lived here their whole lives and they don’t know there’s a population of sea turtles here.”

Pace’s mission is to bring untold stories to light, and sometimes those overlooked stories are nearby.

He's just one man, but Pace is confident that his stories can have a big impact on ocean ecosystems.

Ocean conservation is a huge and complex movement, full of giant and sometimes overwhelming problems. But even one story about one particular animal can have positive effects on the whole environment.

“Sometimes, by saving one thing, we create a sort of umbrella to save a lot of things underneath it,” Pace says.

He uses Costa Rica, where he worked with sea turtles but also saw jaguar conservation efforts, as an example. Oftentimes people can feel like they’re competing for resources in order to save their species, but the way Pace sees it, it’s all one story.

“Why work in competition with the jaguar folks?” he says. “Let’s protect the whole stretch of beach. Let’s work together to make sure there’s lots of sea turtle habitats so that when their populations rebound, it also provides food for the jaguar.’”

He brings that same philosophy to all the projects he photographs. By bringing one untold story to light, Pace’s photography can attract support and resources to entire ecosystems.

Though photography is a pretty specific skill, Pace's passion for new information is something we can all incorporate into our lives.

Spreading the knowledge of ocean conservation — whether though photography, writing, science, or just talking over the dinner table — is how Pace believes we will ultimately save our underwater environments.

"That's what telling stories can do," he says. "You take people to places they've never been and you introduce them to things they've never heard about. And hopefully that allows to them to make better decisions that are ultimately gonna make this planet a better place. That's all you can really hope for."

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Serene and beautiful photos of the world's first eco-friendly underwater burial ground.

Losing a loved one is hard for a number of reasons.

While the grieving process itself takes a toll, you might also find yourself needing to make several difficult decisions. There are legal issues, people to notify, decisions about the person's property or belongings, and a million choices about funeral arrangements.

If the death is unexpected or isn't thoroughly planned for, those decisions get even harder.

One of those decisions is what to do with your loved one's remains, and believe it or not, there are a lot of options.

Sure, you can go the traditional burial route, and there's always cremation, where you can either keep the ashes around or do something cool like toss them into your grandpa's favorite fishing spot (cue single manly tear).

This is for you, grandpa. You urn'd it. (Sorry just trying to lighten the mood.) Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images.

There are also an increasing number of creative options for paying tribute to your loved ones. You can turn your loved one into a tree or a diamond or even a toaster, and if they were a music lover, you can even have their ashes pressed into a vinyl record. Really.

Another option sits off the coast of Miami in Key Biscayne. It's called the Neptune Memorial Reef, and it's the first underwater graveyard.

It's also the largest human-made reef ever built. Naturally occurring coral reefs exist all over the world, but they can also be made artificially.

A reef is essentially just a complex group of shapes underwater. They're important because they can provide shelter for small fish, protection from storms, surface area for algae and coral to grow on, and they generally help promote diversity within an ecosystem.

To make an artificial reef, you can sink something like an old ship to the bottom of the ocean, where coral and algae can grow on it and create a safe home for dozens of species.

When it comes to burying a loved one at the Neptune Memorial Reef, you can have their ashes spread at the site or purchase a plaque with their name on it to become part of the reef itself.

A memorial plaque at the Neptune reef. Photo by Todd Murray/Flickr.

They also offer various cremation and memorial services.

The reef was carefully designed in order to promote the healthiest ecosystem possible — something anyone who loves the ocean and environment can appreciate.

"Every angle and texture of the Reef was engineered by a marine biologist to attract and support certain marine life to build an ecosystem," their website says, explaining that the vertical structures are home to "corals and coraling algae" while decorative holes were added to the design as a hiding place that "allows prey animals passage while blocking predators."

Appropriately, the Neptune reef was also made to resemble Atlantis — a fictional city that was lost underwater in Greek myths.

What better way to celebrate the life of a loved one than by preserving their memory in a way that helps protect and promote life?

Whether your loved one was an ocean-lover or just someone who loved this planet we all call home, an underwater grave site is a pretty beautiful — and special — resting place.

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