An orcas diet consists of Chinook salmon and can eat up to two dozen fish a day - so why is it that the killer whales like to bully porpoises despite them not being part of their diet? That's the question which has left scientists scratching their heads, as the study published in Marine Mammal Science seeks to add further understanding to this subject. Around 78 cases of orcas targeting porpoises were noted by researchers from the UK, USA and Canada. It was said to be happening in the Salish Sea (located in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington). Some of the orcas' bullying tactics include pushing the porpoise along with their nose, holding the porpoise in their mouth, balancing the porpoise above water, slapping the porpoise with their tail, and raking the porpoise with their teeth, according to Science Alert. Killer whales also use porpoises as playthings as they catch them before letting them and proceeding to chase them once more - and they even play toss them around in a 'pass the porpoise' game, say whale watchers. That's some textbook tormenting. Out of these sightings, 28 of them have ended in the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) or a Dall's porpoise being suspected to have been killed, though there's no record of the porpoises being eaten by the orcas. In terms of size, the porpoise is said to be fairly small being a similar size to a Chinook salmon - a large fish species that can grow up to 1.5 meters (5 feet). There are three theories that have been considered by the experts. Firstly, the bullying is all about creating coordination, and cohesion within the group of orcas, or alternatively that the orcas do this as a form of hunting practice. The final theory is that orcas could be trying to look after weak porpoises as if they were their own aka 'displaced epimeletic behaviour.' This mismothering behaviour – also known as 'displaced epimeletic behaviour' to scientists – might be due to their limited opportunities to look after youngsters as the stat shows. "Our research has shown that due to malnutrition, nearly 70 per cent of Southern Resident killer whale pregnancies have resulted in miscarriages or calves that died right away after birth." It seems that orcas are not the only bullies of the seas, as smaller dolphins e.g. bottlenose have similarly been seen harassing and killing for no clear reason. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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A tiny kitten that captured hearts after being found with a disability affecting all his legs has sadly died after contracting an illness. Tater Tot was found when he was just a day old with all four of his legs malformed. His rescue journey was documented online where people fell in love with the sweet kitten and his permanently angry expression. Now, his many fans have been left heartbroken following the news of his death. Tater Tot’s fosterer, Ash Houghton, made the sad announcement in a special Facebook group with his more than 43,000 fans, called Tater Tot and His Spudbuds. Houghton wrote: “Today, our tiny spud, passed away suddenly in my hands. His energy had been slowly decreasing over the last week or so, and we were hoping it was an illness that antibiotics could treat. “He also started showing signs of pneumonia a few days ago, and I had started pneumonia protocol with meds and a nebulizer.” He died on Wednesday 2 August in Houghton’s hands and she thanked people for their unconditional love shown towards her special needs kitten. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter She continued: “This tiny little potato has had such a profound impact on my heart, and I am so unbelievably happy I got to share him with the entire world. “What started as me sharing some photos of the goofy new foster I had turned into an entire community focused on kindness, humor and compassion. “I am astounded at the reach Tater Tot’s story had, and I cannot express to you just how incredible it has been to see how he has impacted the world.” Heartbroken fans took to Twitter to share in their grief. Houghton ended the announcement encouraging people to donate to their local animal shelters in honour of Tater Tot. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.