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Why 'weak ties' are more important than best friends, according to a friendship expert

There's more to life than besties.

weak ties, friendship
@thefriendshipexpert/TikTok

Go say hello to an acquaintance today

What is the cure for loneliness?

One might be tempted to say close, intimate relationships. Which is true to a certain degree, but as counterintuitive as it may seem firsthand, those more distant friendships can be just as meaningful.

In fact, according to friendship coach Danielle Bayard Jackson, those in our outer circle can contribute even more to our happiness than our besties.

Bayard Jackson is a go-to source when it comes to creating healthy, fulfilling platonic friendships. Her advice has been featured in the “New York Times”, “Wall Street Journal,” “Washington Post” and “Psychology Today,” just to name a few.

Being an expert in the realm of close bonds, it might come as a surprise that Bayard Jackson touted the benefits of what she calls “weak ties” in a recent video posted to her TikTok page. But she brings up some great points.

"There are close friends, and then there are... acquaintances, associates," she explains. "The sociological term for people who are not our besties, but with whom we have, like, pleasant enough relationships is weak ties. Those are people who you enjoy, but who you see more infrequently and you have less intimacy with."

For example—coworkers, parents you only see at certain school functions, neighbors, maybe even classmates. The NPCs of your life, if you will. We might not consider these people close friends, but they still play a vital role to our wellbeing, Bayard Jackson attests.

"According to research, people with more weak ties are happier and are less likely to have depression,” she said, adding that people with a lot of weak ties have more access to resources and critical information needed to improve their life.

@thefriendshipexpert

The beauty of “weak ties”

♬ original sound - Danielle Bayard Jackson

Not only that, but those with a bigger friend circle receive a wider variety of perspectives, “making them feel like their world is bigger,” as well as affirmation for the “various aspects of their intersectional identities,” meaning they probably “feel seen” more often.

In other words—“close friends are not the only kind of relationships that offer value to your life.”

Some of the research Bayard Jackson alludes to might include that of sociologist Mark Granovetter, who first began pioneering the theory that weak ties could strengthen job opportunities, since they introduce new ideas and broaden one’s social network.

Subsequent studies on the subject have confirmed that, regardless of nationality or age, weak ties also help one feel a sense of belonging, and contribute to a sense of emotional well being.

It’s an interesting take, especially coming during a time when it might feel like weak ties are all we have, thanks to social media. After all, most of us are probably much more likely to comment on an audience's Instagram post than we are to actually call up a close friend to have an hour long in depth conversation.

via GIPHY

But it’s also undeniable that outside of the social media watering hole, our weak tie friendships might have severely dwindled during the pandemic, and have probably continued to go unfostered as we’ve navigated a shift towards working from home. Maybe this is partially due to the fact that we haven’t acknowledged how important they are.

It’s not often that quantity trumps quality, but this seems to be one of those rare cases. If we really want to start feeling less lonely, and a little bit better about ourselves, we might want to consider putting the effort into strengthening those weak ties. Luckily, it doens’t have to be that hard.

As Bayard Jackson suggests, "stop giving a stank face to your neighbors and your coworkers and those people who stand next to you at the dog park, and instead, I need you to start saying hello. Because it will be worth it."

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Heroes

Man finds genius loophole to beat squatters at their own game. Homeowners say he's a hero.

"All I'm doing is becoming a squatter and flipping this process on them."

Canva Photos

Flash Shelton has been nicknamed the "Squatter Hunter" and helps people take their homes back.

Squatters' rights laws are some of the most bizarrely misused legal realities we have, and something no one seems to have a good answer for. Most of us have heard stories of someone moving into a vacant home and just living there, without anyone's permission and without paying rent, and somehow this is a legal question mark until the courts sort it out.

According to The National Desk, squatters' rights are a carryover from British property law and were created to ensure that abandoned property could be used and to protect occupants from being kicked out without proper notice. The argument is that it's better to have someone openly living in a home and taking care of it, properly maintaining it, versus it laying abandoned and rotting away. Families and residents add value to a community, and those residents should have rights — or so the reasoning goes.

It should go without saying that squatter law isn't meant to allow someone to just take over someone else's property, but sometimes that's exactly what happens.

A squatter takeover is exactly what happened to Flash Shelton's mother when she put her house up for rent after her husband passed away.


A woman contacted her with interest in the property, only she wanted to do repairs and look after the home instead of paying rent. Before anyone knew it, she had furniture delivered (which she later said was accidental) and set up camp, despite Shelton's mom not agreeing to the arrangement.

But since the woman had expressed her intention and already moved in, the matter was out of police hands, as Shelton found out when he tried to contact the local sheriff. If that sounds like trespassing to you, well, join the club.

“They said, ‘I’m sorry but we can’t enter the house, and it looks like they’re living there, so you need to go through the courts',” he shared in a YouTube video.


Shelton rightfully didn't want the expense of a court battle, so he took matters into his own hands—not with violence, but with logic. He had his mom lease the home to him, and then told the squatter that she had to move everything out because he was moving things in.


squatters, homeowners, criminals, trespassing, law, property law, viral videos, youtube, squatter hunter How exactly is squatting not trespassing? It's complicated, for some reason. Giphy

“If they can take a house, I can take a house," he said.

He was calm and clear about her having to get everything out within the day or he would have people come and take it, and thankfully, she didn't put up a big fight.

That experience made him realize how squatter law can be abused, but that there's a faster system for removing a squatter than to go through the court system. If a squatter can move in and force a homeowner to take them to court to prove they are living there illegally, then he could simply move in alongside the squatter, putting the squatter in the position of having to take the homeowner to court instead.

"The legal process is so slow, and at some point when they're in there, you're going to feel like they have more rights than you do and that's how you're going to be treated. So even though you it's your house and you're paying the mortgage or whatever, at some point squatters feel like they have more rights than you, so they don't have an incentive to leave until a judge tells them to, until they're actually ordered to, and that could take months."

After successfully removing the squatters in his mother's house, Shelton has been tackling similar squatter situations for other homeowners in California, earning him the nickname "The Squatter Hunter."

"All I'm doing is becoming a squatter and flipping this process on them," Shelton told CBS News. "I figured if they could take a house, I could take a house."

According to CBS, he's successfully removed a dozen squatters in the past year. ""I'm not going in and I'm not hurting anyone," he said. "I'm not kicking them out, I'm not throwing them out." He's literally just moving in himself, setting up cameras, and then creating small annoyances until the squatters get fed up enough to move out; like making uncomfortable alterations to the home or making a ton of noise at inopportune hours.

Shelton parlayed his success into a reality show on A&E called, fittingly, Squatters. It premiered in July of 2025. To put it lightly, it looks intense! Clips posted on Shelton's social media show hostile standoffs with angry squatters and even he and his team causing damage to the home or creating nuisances to help drive the squatters out.

California isn't the only state that has seen issues with squatters. There are squatter stories from all over the U.S. of people moving into a property and refusing to leave without a court order, tying owners up in lengthy, expensive legal battles.

Though squatting is relatively rare overall, some areas of the country have more issues than others. California, Texas, Georgia, and Florida are areas, in particular, that struggle with squatters and abandoned properties.

Shelton even has a Change.org petition to try to get squatter laws changed to "make squatting in residential maintained homes criminal." Making squatting illegal "will shift the burden of proof onto the squatter and make the crime punishable with restitution an option for damages," the the petition states.

Not all homeowners will have access to someone like Shelton and his team to fight back against squatters. But until the laws change, he's doing as much as he can.

Watch Shelton share his personal story:

- YouTube www.youtube.com

This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.


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Animals & Wildlife

Baby sperm whale filmed feeding for first time, solving long-time scientific mystery

How the elusive mammals nurse with that bulbous head has been a curiosity for decades.

Photo credit: Canva

Sperm whale heads don't seem like they'd be conducive to nursing.

We know that mammals feed their young with milk from their own bodies, and we know that whales are mammals. But the logistics of how some whales make suckling happen has been a bit of a mystery for scientists. Such has been the case with sperm whales.

Sperm whales are uniquely shaped, with humongous, block-shaped heads that house the largest brains in the animal world. Like other cetaceans, sperm whale babies rely on their mother's milk for sustenance in their first year or two. And also like other cetaceans, a sperm whale mama's nipple is inverted—it doesn't stick out from her body like many mammals, but rather is hidden inside a mammary slit.

sperm whales, ocean, whale behavior, cetaceans, marine biology Sperm whales have a unique head shape. Giphy GIF by Nature on PBS

Most whale and dolphin babies nudge the mammary slit to expose the nipple, allowing them to "suckle." A sperm whale baby's head and mouth aren't really designed for suckling in the traditional sense, obviously, as its massive nose protrudes over its much smaller lower jaw. But even in the whale sense of mom shooting milk into a baby's mouth, it's been unclear how it works for sperm whales due to their oddly shaped heads. Photos and observations have led researchers to believe that the mother whale expresses milk into the water for the baby to ingests outside of her body, but the real mechanics haven't been clearly understood.

With the proliferation of underwater photography and filmography, it may seem strange that we don't have more nursing whale evidence to examine, but because baby whales can't breathe and nurse at the same time, nursing events are usually quite short. Even being in the right place at the right time to observe a whale nursing is rare, much less capturing it on film.

sperm whale, whale behavior, sperm whale calf, marine biology, wildlife You can see how nursing might be tricky with that mouth.Photo credit: Canva

A four-part documentary series from National Geographic released in 2021 has provided, for the first time, film footage of a sperm whale baby nursing. It shows how the baby actually inserting its lower jaw into the mother's mammary slit, and the milk—which contains ten times more fat than human milk and is the consistency of yogurt—shooting directly into the baby whale's mouth.

The documentary series containing this footage, "Secrets of the Whales," was conceived of by National Geographic Explorer and photographer Brian Skerry and follows the stories of five different whale species—narwhals, humpbacks, belugas, sperm whales, and orcas. It was filmed in 24 locations around the world and took three years to make. Produced by award-winning filmmaker and conservationist James Cameron (of "Titanic" and "Avatar" fame) and narrated by award-winning actress and conservationist Sigourney Weaver, the series is sure to please whale lovers and nature lovers alike.

- YouTube youtu.be

In addition to sperm whale babies breastfeeding, the docuseries shows how beluga whales name themselves so groups can keep track of each other, how baby belugas share their moms' call signs, how 30,000 humpbacks travel together from Australia to Antarctica and use breeches to talk to each other, and how a beluga pod adopted a narwhal into their bod—apparently the first ever cross-species adoption ever recorded.

Executive Producer James Cameron called the series a "challenging, daunting project" in a SXSW Conference panel. "It's also so important for people to understand and for this film to illuminate how these creatures think, how they feel, what their emotion is like, what their society is like," he said, "because we won't protect what we don't love."

- YouTube youtu.be

The filmmakers hope that by sharing with people the unique identities of the whales they followed, they can inspire people to think about how these magnificent mammals can be better protected.

"It's inescapable that they're being poisoned by us, that they're being deafened by us, or their behaviors, all of their feeding strategies and mating strategies and reproductive strategies are being dismantled by all of this noise from shipping channels and military sonars and all that," Cameron said. "They're going to continue to decline. The right whales are down to about 300…We barely understand these animals, so I think we have to, as a society, we have to think about doing it better."

Indeed we do.

This article originally appeared four years ago.

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Retired teachers in their 30s live on cruise ships full-time for a little over $10K a year

“It sounds mad, but the numbers made sense."

via Matthew Barra/Pexels

A cruise ship could be your home for a way lower price than you'd expect.

You know that feeling toward the end of a great vacation when you stop and think: I wish I could stay here forever. It might be an all-inclusive resort, a secluded beach, or a fun-filled cruise on the high seas that you just don't want to leave. Of course, for most people, it's a fantasy. You can't just quit your job and live a permanent vacation. But what if you could?

Giving it all up and retiring to live on a cruise ship at 32 seems like a lifestyle choice only available to the ultra-wealthy. However, two financially savvy retired school teachers from Tennessee have managed to do just that, spending under $10,000 for the first eight months at sea.

Monica Brzoska, 32, and Jorrell Conley, 36, met in 2015 while teaching in Memphis, Tennessee. The following year, they booked a week-long cruise to Mexico, Belize, and Grand Cayman. After that, they were hooked on cruising together.

Eight years later, in March 2023, they booked a week-long Caribbean cruise and had the time of their lives. When it was over, instead of returning home to Memphis, they had a wild idea: Why not continue to book consecutive cruises? So, they did just that.

Monica was inspired to start living the life she always wanted after her father fell ill and her mother told her: "Don't wait for retirement. Follow your dreams."

The couple crunched the numbers and found that if they chose the cheapest cabins and used the deals and promotions they’d received from Carnival Cruises, they could book the first 8 months for just under $10,000.

That's not per month. That's the total, coming out to around $1250 per month. Not a bad deal whatsoever. Plus, the more cruises they book, the more perks and deals they get.

“It sounds mad, but the numbers made sense. Accommodation, food and entertainment would be included – we’d only need spending money,” Brzoska told The Sun. “And because we’d been on so many Carnival cruises, we’d earned access to some amazing offers.”

Hopping from ship to ship isn’t difficult for the couple because many disembark from the same ports. But they sometimes have to fly when they can’t walk to the next ocean liner.

The couple then quit their jobs, sold their possessions, and started a new life on the high seas. They rent out their 3-bedroom home in Memphis to maintain steady cash flow. The average 3-bedroom home in the area rents somewhere between $1200 to $1900 a month.

Over the first year of their new life, the couple completed 36 consecutive cruises.

They have already visited countless destinations across the globe, but they can’t choose a favorite. "For a cultural experience, we loved Japan," Brzoska told a Carnival Cruise director on Instagram. The couple also loved Greece for its “history” and Iceland because it was the "closest to being on Mars."

More recently, they've spent time in Amsterdam, the UK, Germany, Belgium, and more. What an amazing adventure.

One of the most incredible benefits of loving on a cruise ship is that so many things are taken care of for you. The couple never has to cook any meals, do any laundry, or drive. Every night, there is something to do, whether it’s checking out a comedy show or enjoying drinks and dancing in the nightclub. Plus, there are always new friends to meet on board with every new cruise.

Plus, on cruises, just about all the costs are covered, so you rarely have to open your wallet. It’s a stress-free, all-inclusive lifestyle. Brzoska says that when you remove the everyday stresses from life, it’s great for your marriage. “Without the daily stresses of life, we rarely argued, but always told each other if we needed space or more time together,” she said.

Brzoska and Conley were one of the first high-profile couples to get attention, followers, and media coverage for the permanent cruising lifestyle, but they're definitely not the only ones. It's an especially popular choice for retired adults and seniors, who find it cheaper and way more fun than living in a retirement community or nursing home. It's also a great choice for people who can work remotely and flexibly, or who own their own digital-nomad-friendly businesses.

The couple also makes sure to have one date night a week, during which they dress up and have a nice meal together.

As of this writing, the couple has been cruising full-time for over two years, or 916 days to be exact. They've been on 106 cruises and visited over 45 countries together. Absolutely unreal.

Most people may be unable to give it all up and live their lives hopping from ocean liner to ocean liner. But there’s a great lesson in the story of Brzoska and Conley: You never know how much time you have left, so don’t wait for retirement to live the life of your dreams.

This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.


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Women over 30 share their 'frugal girl hacks' that help them save big money

"Have you tried the massage gun trick on heavy duty lotion bottles that you can't cut?"

Image via Canva/Monkey Business Images

Frugal women share their best money-saving hacks.

Living a frugal lifestyle means making decisions that will save you the most money.

Over on a Reddit subforum of women over 30, member u/hauteburrrito posed the question: "What's your frugal girl hack/flex?" She went on to share, "I cut open all my toothpaste, lotion, etc., bottles after I can't squeeze anything out anymore, and then use a scraping tool to transfer the (usually substantial) remnants into a travel-sized Muji container."

She also shared a hack she adopted from a friend: "I have a friend who not only reuses her plastic Ziploc bags, but actually runs the grodier ones through the dishwasher. (I also reuse my plastic Ziploc bags, but alas, my few attempts at putting them through the dishwasher have mostly just resulted in semi-mangled Ziplocs.)," she added.

frugal, frugality, being frugal, frugal lifestyle, frugal living Cheap GIF by 60 Second Docs Giphy

She concluded her post with a call-out to fellow money-saving females: "Anyway, I'd love to hear from all my frugal girlies here (even if you're, like me, only part-time frugal) - what's your frugal, let-me-milk-every-last-bit-of-value-outta-this-thing hack/flex?"

In response, frugal ladies over 30 had a bevy of money-saving tips to share, and then some. These are 25 of the best 'frugal girl hacks' that have saved women major money.

"Most frugal is doing a no spend month, pulling out every stitch of clothing - hanging them up and committing to one outfit per day in public. I got rid of so much crap, love everything that remains, and broke my obsession shopping - I am content with watch reels online to get my shopping fix." —Rough_Commercial4240

"I regularly we-have-mcdonalds-at-home myself, aka talking myself out of purchases because dang it, I do have something at home that is just the slightly less efficient or less easy version of the thing that I'm thinking about getting. A recent one was one of those quick heating heat pens to neutralize mosquito bite itches. I've already had 20+ bites this season (please send help) so this seemed like a godsend due to how easy it would be to treat the itch on the spot. But ehhhhhh... microwaving some water in a cup and heating a spoon in the resulting hot water and then pressing it on the bite does the same thing. Blasting the bite with a hair dryer also does the same, and I already own all of these things." —caramelpupcorn

"Have you tried the massage gun trick on heavy duty lotion bottles that you can't cut?" —Catty_Lib

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"Put money in savings the day you get paid. Not the end of the month after the bills are paid. I rarely eat out, cut my own hair and bought supplies to do my own manicures. Ditch the serums and expensive beauty products… drug store basics or making my own works just fine. Probably most impactful and easiest one to implement: If I get the urge to buy a thing (that I didn’t plan for, just want), I have a waiting rule - I have to wait 1 days for every $10 the item costs. So if something costs $70, I have to wait a week before I allow myself to buy it (some flexibility if it’s a really good sale or time limited or whatever). If I still want the thing, I buy it. More often than not, I forget or change my mind before the waiting period is over… this has done wonders for removing compulsive spending and random splurging." —rjwyonch

"I only buy natural fiber clothing. It can be repaired, wash by hand, dries quickly. Online i get designer silk and cashmere for less than I'd pay for a tank top at target-- which wont survive a single wash-- just by allowing myself to take my time looking and hunting through piles of listings." —babycrow

"I find adding things to the cart and just leaving it really helps. 90% of the time I start coming up with excuses to wait longer or just forget about it." —User Unknown

add to cart, online shopping, shopping online, shopping cart, shopping Shopping Spree Money GIF by Cosmopolitan Giphy

"This is slightly unethical, but I travel a lot for work. When I get my per-diems, instead of eating out on my trips, I go grocery shopping and eat microwavable foods while also stocking up on essentials I will use but won't fully use on my trip such as oatmeal, canned beans, apples, bananas, cheese, etc. I have a really nice cooler so even if I'm travelling far, I can just shove all the perishables into the cooler and they'll be fine for the 3-10 hour drive home. My per-diem usage is still less than my colleagues because I don't eat out for every meal so no one bats an eye at my spending. My other hack is kind of silly, but living in the country. There's no door dash, very few restaurants, and hardly any shopping so there's very little temptation to spend frivolously. There are only thrift stores, so if you need things like a t-shirt or mixing bowls, unless you're willing to drive 30-60 miles away, thrift stores are where you're going to. In addition, people still do labor trades up here. My boyfriend fixed the heater of the guy who patched our roof. Roof guy was happy his heater will run during the winter and we're happy our roof won't leak and everyone is happy to just throw cash for supplies and not charge or pay for labor. Lastly, the cabin I'm in doesn't have any heating system, so you just have to start a fire and bundle up, which is fine and we're not tempted to run a costly heater because we simply don't have one. I can imagine we'll be a little miffed come the dead of winter, but we both grew up in homes with no central heating so it's not something we're unaccustomed to. Last hack- do activities that you already have access to and make your own fun. Restart an old hobby, go for a walk, read a book, draw, bake, etc. There are a lot of things you can do that don't involve spending a ton of money. Maybe this seems obvious but I feel like I know several people who seem to only be able to 'have fun and relax' doing activities that are costly such as going bar hopping, having a spa day, taking a weekend trip. Not that any of these are bad, per se, but it can really dip into your wallet. Inviting friends over for a small potluck can be just as lovely as a time as going out for a really expensive dinner." —skinsnax

"Use the library. They rent out all kinds of stuff. Also get the Libby app." —Pinklady777

"My best frugal life hack has been improving my cooking skills. It took a few years, but I now cook most of my meals from scratch at home, saving hundreds per month. I even started baking my own bread this year. Another powerful hack has been tracking every single penny that I spend through a budgeting app. My preferred app is You Need a Budget (YNAB). I find it worth the high subscription fee, though there are also cheaper options if $100ish/year seems too much." —ConcentrateTrue

cooking, cook, cooking skills, cook at home, home chef Chef Kitchen GIF by Jukebox Saints Giphy

"I lost my job back in July. I've been a lot more frugal since then and am currently about breaking even on my spending/expenses and 'income' (unemployment and some side gig money). One thing I did regarding food was used up all the food I had in my kitchen that I was kind of ignoring for awhile. I had maple syrup I never used, so I bought a box of frozen waffles. So maybe it was a boxed dinner that was expired by two years, or just a condiment I didn't use often. I used everything up. And then I mostly eliminated the impulse shopping, as someone else mentioned. I collect Pokemon cards, so I was regularly making $50+ orders on eBay. Alas, I am not even browsing them at the moment." —DarmokTheNinja

"I'm in NYC, and mostly, it's having a roommate (not where I thought I'd be over 30, but saves so much money) and living in a rent stabilized apartment (super old, no amenities, and has its issues). Also, I only eat out socially, not for convenience. Focusing on saving hundreds a month on the big things (e.g., rent) allows me to not have to focus on cutting out a few bucks here and there for the small luxuries. Other than that, it's mostly that I started saving money in my retirement accounts early (definitely make sure you take advantage of any employer matches!), and am relying on compound interest to make it so that I can hopefully actually retire. $10k saved in your 20s ends up giving you SO much more than $10k saved in your 50s. Plus, I can live more frugally when younger than when I'm older and less active." —MerelyMisha

"One of my fav upgrades is just.. CLOTH napkins. Can use for a few days gently. Much nicer experience. Throw in wash. If they start to be sad over many years they become cleaning rags. Soooo much less expensive than buying wasteful paper towels! We have one roll of paper towels for really gross random stuff that we have had for like 5 years cause we so infrequently need them."
—more_pepper_plz

cloth napkin, cloth napkins, napkin, napkins, napkin gif Harry Styles Eating GIF by The Late Late Show with James Corden Giphy

"This is a fun one that I enjoy. I decided not to buy any luxury items on my salary. When I want to buy something, I invest money and try to make the price of the item in profits(post taxes of course). Sometimes it is quick and sometimes it takes a while. This gives me time and prevents an impulse buy. By the time I have the money in hand, I have either changed my mind about the purchase or I go for it. Either way, I ain’t losing money(maybe girl math) 🙈 My salary or funds are only for necessary expenses that cannot wait." —calm_momentum38

"This is probably not weird to you but it is where I live - we don't have a car (I haven't owned one since 2011, and my partner sold his in 2020). In addition to all the obvious ways we're saving money - this also limits impulse shopping for me (do I really want to carry this home?)." —Hold_Effective

"Put a few drops of eye drops in your drying out mascara. Works amazing every time." —kimberleeeee_

mascara, mascara gif, putting on mascara, applying mascara, mascaras Audrey Hepburn Fun GIF Giphy

"I'm not sure if it's more frugal or just convenient, but when I cook, I save extra portions and freeze them in my preferred serving sizes. I don't like leftovers once they've been in the fridge more than a day or two, so this method has really reduced my food waste and also has kind of turned my freezer into a pantry. Helps to keep me from eating out too! If anyone is curious I use silicon Souper Cubes to freeze and then store in freezer ziplocs or Stasher bags." —SuitcaseOfSparks

"Facebook marketplace/ buy/sell or free groups. Most of my stuff in my apartment is gently used/thrifted/have me down/gifted. Kids grow quick and usually their clothes can be passed along, sports equipment second hand, kitchen appliances, furniture. I rarely buy new, mostly because I'm poor but I can't justify the cost of buying certain things new when it's fine gently used and much cheaper." —ladybug11314

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Animals & Wildlife

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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