Why do humpback whales prevent killer whales from hunting other animals?

Sometimes in the hunts of killer whales, they will encounter obstacles because of "hacking" humpback whales to rescue the prey. Why do humpback whales have such strange actions?

1. Strangely, fish can live on land for five years without dying
2. Why do hundreds of whales and dolphins "collective suicide"?

With a giant body, ranging from 12 to 16 meters long, weighing about 30 to 36 tons, humpback whales don't need to be too worried about being eaten by other predators. But it seems they don't like their "easy" life, humpback whales are constantly being found in search and jump in to protect other animals from close whale attacks. Player.

Researchers do not understand why humpback whales work so well for them. Why are they putting themselves at risk when they "steal" their prey and engage the killer whale, the most ferocious mammal mammal in the ocean? Are they acting for altruism?

Why do humpback whales prevent killer whales from hunting other animals? Picture 1

In 2009, marine ecologist Robert Pitman was fortunate to witness a wonderful rescue action in the waters off the South Pole. A Weddell seal was kicked out of an iceberg by a group of killer whales and was about to become their dinner that had been rescued by a humpback whale. The amazing thing is that humpback whales have placed seals on their upside-down belly to protect the seals from killer whales until it is safe on another iceberg.

Later, Pitman and some of his colleagues discovered 115 interactions between humpback whales and killer whales during the period from 1951 to 2012. 57% were due to humpback whales actively seeking whales. assassins to fight, more than 87% of humpback whales appear in the hunting process of killer whales.

Why do humpback whales prevent killer whales from hunting other animals? Picture 2

Especially, 89% of humpback whales intervene when killer whales are attacking other species rather than attacking their species. This shows that this giant marine species not only protects their species but also protects other creatures such as California sea lions, moon fish, harbor seals, and gray whales.

Why humpback whales interfere with killer whale hunts even knowing that their prey is not their same is still a mystery.