Did you know that whales can mate in groups? We call it an orgy in human terms, and there doesn’t appear to be a scientific term for a whale clusterfuck, so Whale Orgy it is. Well, one such gathering was witnessed off the southern coast of Australia.
More than just being super hot, this whale orgy is a good sign for the southern right whale species, which was nearly eradicated after decades of whaling.
A man by the name of Brett Peake lives in Albany, Australia, about 260 miles southeast of Perth, sitting directly on the ocean. Brett was lucky enough to capture footage of around 6 to 7 whales mating in a group.
A marine biologist named Pia Markovic, who spoke with ABC.net.au, said this whale orgy ritual is much more common among Southern right whales, and “you could have five whales there or you could have up to 20 whales.”
Human orgies rarely break out spontaneously. They tend to be organized affairs, according to all the orgy experts Vice has spoken to over the years.
Whale orgies aren’t too different, but there is a degree of spontaneity involved. Markovich says that a female whale will put out a call that travels underwater. The sound waves will be picked up by the males, who will then swim over to initiate the orgy.
What ensues is much closer to a dance than a bunch of heaving and grunting. The female whale does some agile graceful movements and the male mirrors her. Sometimes male whales start fighting each other for attention but things never get too violent. Multiple male whales during these orgies get the chance to mate with the female to increase the chance of impregnation with each new partner.
Back in the 1920s, the population of southern right whales plummeted to fewer than 300 after whaling destroyed their numbers. For some perspective, there were around 50,000 to 70,000 back in the 1700s.
While their numbers are nowhere near their 1700s population boom, things have greatly improved in the past hundred years. Today, there are around 3,000 southern right whales, and whale orgies are partly to thank for that.
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The post ‘Whale Orgy’ Spotted Off the Southern Coast of Australia appeared first on VICE.
