An Ignoble Experiment: Serial killer whales have been murdering sharks and eating their livers for 5 years

2022/06/30

Serial killer whales have been murdering sharks and eating their livers for 5 years

Created for ignoble.experiment@arconati.us | Web Version

June 30, 2022

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Serial killer whales have been murdering sharks and eating their livers for 5 years

(Marine Dynamics/ Dyer Island Conservation Trust. Image by Hennie Otto)

In the waters off of South Africa, a killer whale killing spree is raging.

Since 2017, a pair of male orcas (Orcinus orca) have slaughtered at least eight great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) near the Gansbaai coast, tearing the fearsome fish apart and eating their livers in all but one case. Some of the sharks — which scientists periodically find dead and shredded on nearby beaches — were even missing their hearts.

Full Story: Live Science (6/29)

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Natural Disasters

Record-breaking Tonga volcano generated the fastest atmospheric waves ever seen

(NOAA and the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS))

The massive eruption from the underwater Tonga volcano in the Pacific earlier this year generated a blast so powerful, it sent massive pressure waves rippling through the atmosphere and around the globe.

These waves were the fastest ever observed within our atmosphere, reaching speeds of 720 miles (1,158 kilometers) per hour, a new study finds.

Full Story: Live Science (6/30)

Space Exploration

Mystery rocket that smashed into the moon left 2 craters, NASA says

(NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University)

NASA has photographed the crash site of the mysterious rocket that smashed into the far side of the moon in March, and the unidentified spacecraft left behind a weird double crater that has scientists puzzled.

Images of the crash site were taken by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) on May 25 and released on June 24. The photos show that the wayward debris (the origins of which are still contested) somehow punched out two overlapping craters when it smashed into the far side of the moon traveling at roughly 5,770 mph (9,290 km/h).

Full Story: Live Science (6/29)

Climate Change

Never-before-seen microbes locked in glacier ice could spark a wave of new pandemics if released

(Shutterstock)

Stunned scientists have uncovered more than 900 never-before-seen species of microbes living inside glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau.

Analysis of the microbes' genomes revealed that some have the potential to spawn new pandemics, if rapid melting caused by climate change releases them from their icy prisons.

Full Story: Live Science (6/30)

Bones

Ancient 'bear dog' found in France named after child-murdering cyclops

(Artwork by Denny Navarra)

With jaws equipped to tear the flesh from the bones of their prey, extinct carnivores known as "bear dogs" were powerful predators that prowled Asia, southern Africa, Europe and North America more than 7.5 million years ago.

Now, researchers have unearthed the jawbone of one of these extinct carnivores in the Pyrenees mountain range in Europe, shedding light on just how deadly bear dogs were, and confirming how widely they were distributed around the world.

Full Story: Live Science (6/30)