Home
Login
Register
Practice Listening
Practice Listening
/
Video
/
National Geographic
/
6 Fascinating Orca Moments | BBC Earth
6 Fascinating Orca Moments | BBC Earth
Select learning mode:
View subtitles
Pick word
Rewrite word
Highlight:
3000 Oxford Words
4000 IELTS Words
5000 Oxford Words
3000 Common Words
1000 TOEIC Words
5000 TOEFL Words
Subtitles (218)
0:00
Oh my god.
0:01
>> That was absolutely phenomenal. Just
0:03
wow.
0:11
>> [music]
0:21
[music]
0:26
[music]
0:38
[music]
0:49
[music]
1:02
[music]
1:05
>> That was like being in the middle of a
1:07
Fast and Furious race. At one point, one
1:09
orca was coming up and it must have had
1:11
a seal in its mouth, and the other orca
1:13
came up and did a handbrake turn and was
1:15
like
1:16
and they were nose-to-nose. This one's
1:18
swimming forward, this one's swimming
1:19
backwards. And they're sharing a seal.
1:22
It was
1:23
ridiculous. It's amazing how tender they
1:25
are. One catches a seal and then they
1:28
all gently share it with one another and
1:30
with the baby.
1:32
Absolutely phenomenal.
1:34
Just
1:35
just wow.
1:44
>> We are right now with [music] a pod of
1:46
orcas and I've just taken a picture of
1:48
one orca that's been tagged and it means
1:50
that it's one of those orcas that has
1:52
been released here in the Russian Far
1:54
East. That means that
1:55
uh all the arguments from the captive
1:58
industry, orcas actually can be released
2:00
and safely returned into their natural
2:03
environment and live happy life in where
2:05
they belong to.
2:27
>> [music]
2:46
[music]
2:59
[music]
3:05
[music]
3:11
[music]
3:17
[music]
3:27
>> A 6-ton orca slaps its tail with awesome
3:30
destructive power.
3:38
Under the water, tail slaps are used to
3:40
stun the herring.
3:56
>> Some fish come too quickly and escape
3:58
back to the safety of the shoal.
4:03
But most are picked off by the orcas
4:05
one by one.
4:18
Soon the water glitters with fish scales
4:21
as the orcas methodically consume the
4:23
ball of fish.
4:33
By breaking up the herring into a
4:34
smaller shoal, the orcas have done the
4:36
humpbacks a favor
4:38
turning the usual relationship between
4:40
the animals on its head.
4:44
Everywhere else on Earth, orcas [music]
4:46
are the humpbacks' biggest enemy.
4:49
But here
4:51
the humpbacks cash in on the colossal
4:52
fish supper.
5:04
>> [music]
5:06
>> And the humpbacks aren't the only ones
5:08
to get crashed the orcas' party.
5:15
Massive fin whales can swallow 3,000
5:18
herring in a single gulp.
5:36
Deadly enemies feed [music] side by
5:38
side.
5:39
A unique scene only possible [music]
5:42
here because of the warmth of the Gulf
5:44
Stream.
5:48
>> The smaller females travel as a group
5:51
keeping a watchful eye in all
5:53
directions.
5:59
They know that killers lurk in the
6:01
depths.
6:05
The surface is a dangerous place to
6:08
linger,
6:09
especially if you're alone.
6:31
>> [music]
6:37
>> Orca,
6:39
killer whales.
6:43
The sea lion is wounded,
6:45
but the killers keep their distance.
6:51
>> [music]
6:51
>> His powerful jaws are still a threat to
6:54
the hungry orca.
6:59
He struggles towards the safety [music]
7:01
of land,
7:12
but his injuries are slowing him down.
7:40
Blow by blow, they wear him down.
7:57
It's a carefully coordinated attack.
8:06
One killer distracts his attention while
8:09
another hits his soft underside.
8:34
The richest seas on earth can be
8:36
treacherous.
8:38
Here's another good example of whales
8:40
outsmarting people in the Mediterranean.
8:43
On the receiving end is another prized
8:46
fishing industry.
8:49
Not herring this time, but giant BLUEFIN
8:53
TUNA.
9:01
A FISH AS BIG AS THIS WILL NET THE crew
9:03
at least $2,000.
9:09
The boats are following a long
9:10
tradition. Every summer, after spawning,
9:14
bluefin tuna migrate from the
9:16
Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean.
9:21
Each year, the fishermen are waiting.
9:24
And so are the killer whales.
9:42
>> Concrete blocks take the bait down to
9:44
200 m because tuna swim very deep as
9:48
well as fast.
10:01
With the line paid out, the crew can
10:03
only wait and hope.
10:06
And watch the whales.
10:26
A fish has been hooked.
10:30
The sound of the winch is a signal to
10:33
the waiting whales.
10:35
The fishermen will have to work as fast
10:36
as possible to bring in the line.
10:45
The whales simply bide their time.
10:51
By the time the fish [music] nears the
10:52
boat, all the fight has gone out of it.
10:58
This is as easy a meal as a killer whale
11:01
COULD HOPE FOR.
11:20
THE WHALES CAN STRIP THE TUNA IN
11:23
MINUTES.
11:24
All that remains for the fishermen
11:27
are leftovers.
11:32
>> Oh.
11:56
>> This piracy on the high seas is doesn't
11:58
do much for the whales population,
12:00
but this is just too good an opportunity
12:03
for them to miss.
12:19
These killer whales began stealing fish
12:21
in this way around 30 years ago.
12:23
Now, the culture has spread among all
12:26
the members of two local pods. The
12:28
fishing boats don't stand a chance. For
12:31
sea lions to venture into deep water
12:33
here is very dangerous indeed. It's much
12:36
safer to [music] stay in the shallows if
12:37
they can.
13:08
In one or two places, channels enable
13:10
the whales to get really close to the
13:12
beach. Those are the danger spots.
13:44
>> To get off the beach, the killer has to
13:46
thrash its body.
13:53
No other whale deliberately beaches
13:55
itself in this way or has perfected this
13:57
method of getting back to the sea.
14:16
As long as the sea lions stay well up
14:18
the beach, you might think they would be
14:20
safe.
14:21
But the hungry whales are very daring.
14:38
Now, several of the whales are hunting
14:40
in a group.
15:03
That sea lion was keeping just ahead of
15:05
one of the whales, but was caught by
15:07
another it probably hadn't seen.
16:16
>> This is savage beating maybe to separate
16:18
hide from flesh.
16:51
Not much remains of the porpoise after
16:54
the whales are through with it.
17:01
Killer whales don't just target prey
17:03
smaller than themselves.
17:06
Off the coast of California, a gray
17:08
whale and her baby are in serious
17:11
danger.
17:19
One again, computer images give the
17:21
underwater view of an extraordinary
17:24
hunt.
17:26
The gray whale calf is just a few weeks
17:29
old.
17:30
It's following its mother north towards
17:32
the summer feeding grounds in Alaska.
17:36
They've reached Monterey Bay, where a
17:38
deep trench cuts in from the sea.
17:45
As they move beyond the trench wall, the
17:48
gray whales lose their cover.
17:53
Out in the bay, the killer whales are
17:55
listening for that telltale sound, the
17:57
breathing of a gray whale.
18:06
Immediately, their behavior changes. The
18:09
killers close ranks like a hunting wolf
18:11
pack.
18:24
The killer whales have caught up with
18:25
the mother and calf.
18:28
And now, the chase is on.
18:33
The gray whales try to outswim their
18:36
attackers.
18:39
Fast swimming pushes up the gray whale's
18:42
[music] breathing rate. A breathless
18:44
calf is easier to catch.
18:48
The killers work as a team.
18:50
Their first goal is to separate the baby
18:53
from its mother.
18:55
>> [music]
18:58
>> The gray whale mother is a formidable
19:00
adversary.
19:02
She could seriously harm a killer whale
19:04
with just one slap of her massive tail
19:06
fluke.
19:16
>> One of the attackers pushes between
19:18
mother and calf.
19:22
>> [music]
19:39
[music]
19:41
>> The strategy is working.
19:43
The gray whales are forced apart.
19:50
With the baby [music] separated, the
19:52
killer whales change strategy. Now their
19:55
goal is to drown the calf.
19:59
>> [music]
20:05
[music]
