Drone Footage Reveals The Secret Social Lives Of Killer Whales

Drone Footage Reveals The Secret Social Lives Of Killer Whales

This stunning aerial footage of a pod of killer whales has helped researchers uncover the secret social lives led by these stunning predators during which they pick and choose friends and become less sociable as they grow old.A study by the University of Exeter and the Center for Whale Research (CWR) has found that killer whales (Orcinus orca) form complex social structures in their pods.In a statement, Michael Weiss, lead author of the paper, said: "Until now, research on killer whale social networks has relied on seeing the whales when they surface, and recording which whales are together."Using the drone footage the team were able to get a better insight into the lives of the orca pod.Weiss explained: "Looking down into the water from a drone allowed us to see details such as contact between individual whales."(Center for Whale Research-University of Exeter/Zenger News)