Killer whales are not always whale killers...

I was in Iceland in the summer of 2014, and went on a whale cruise with Laki Tours, based out from Snæfellsnes peninsula. They'd had a couple of quiet days, so expectations weren't super high (this is off cause a lie from my side - expectations are always high!) So wrapped in lots of clothes we went out...

Filled with joy over being out, not really caring that we didn't see any whales we started pretending we were there for the birds (this was no act for my girlfriend). We did get to see two puffins and lots of fulmars, but other than that, it was pretty quiet for the first three hours.

Fulmar, a type of gull common to the harsher coasts of north west Europe.

And the best shot I got of a puffin.

Then came the whales

Our man in the sky (a ladder on the mast) shouted that a group of white-beaked dolphins were being hunted by orcas! The only problem was, sometimes the dolphins were following the orcas - not your typical escape strategy. A couple of still pictures to follow...

I could not get the action in pictures so I tried to film it. But only having my old camera with me, quality is wanting (better quality here >200Mb).

As can be seen in the video, the dolphins don't seem afraid of the orcas, They seem to be mingling. Our best guess was that the orcas were a resident pod, specialising in capturing fish, and not interested in marine mammals. I had never heard of orcas working with other whales before, and my excitement was reinforced when the crew on the ship was equally surprised - they'd never seen it before!

Turns out it's not that rare, see here, here and here(.pdf). 

But it's nevertheless very fascinating, mostly on the part of the smaller dolphins. They count on being able to tell the difference between fish- and mammal-eating orcas. So why do this? My guess would be that it increases catch rates for both species. Both pods were small, and could have trouble surrounding or "herding" a school of fish by themselves, but together it would be easier to manage the fish. Especially the nimbler white beaked dolphins could help the orcas with smaller fish. Maybe the tail fluke shock-wave, produced by some orcas, stunning fish, could be the "what's in it" for the dolphins.

One thing is for sure - every time you venture outside you see something new (and every time you venture inside you see what you expect).