A colleague sent me this, and I find it vaguely hopeful:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uBFUumm3Dk[/youtube]
An orca (a large-brained mammal related to the dolphin) knew how to kill a Great White shark, cleverly by flipping it on its back.
I’m not sure for what that’s a metaphor, but I’ll think of something. Hat tip, boingboing.net.
Killer!
In Orca (a hilariously bad 1977 rip-off of you-know-what), the opening scenes feature a killer whale MAJORLY PWNING a great white shark just as the innocent fish is about to snack on some tasty human snorkelers.
The Hollywood whale doesn’t kill the shark and eat just the liver, of course, but rather rams into it so fast and hard that the shark actually flies through the water and makes a long, graceful arc in the air. Sure.
Of course, rather than being grateful, the humans accidentally kill Mrs. Orca (not before inducing a slow-motion bloody miscarriage of a puppet-whale-fetus), so Mr. Orca goes on a movie-length rampage that includes biting Bo Derek’s leg off (also in slo-mo).
Anyway, thanks to Jeff for the cool NatGeo link, and now your knowledge of ’70s cinema dreck has been slightly expanded. Ah, junior-high…
Anyway, it’s gratifying to know that Orcinus orca really can kick the ass of Carcharodon carcharias. Go mammals, it’s your birfday, go mammals, go mammals…
Also, for those who don’t know the it, prepare to be amazed by the history of Old Tom and other Australian orcas who evidently figured out for themselves that if they herded baleen whales into a certain bay, the 19th-century human whalers would considerately kill the whales and but then give the tasty tongues back to the orcas. (Thereby saving a lot of exertion for orcas and humans alike.)
Throbert, that’s a heartwarming story! 🙂 I heard another herding story when I went to Africa. The zebra run with the wildebeest (which are pretty stupid) and herd them in the right direction, where the wildebeest need to go. Why would the zebra be so selfless? Because, when it’s time to cross a river, where crocodiles always lurk, the zebra stand aside and make the wildebeest go first.