Orcas (killer whales) are a species of dolphins, and by most definitions, they are the oceans' apex predators. Orcas and other dolphins hunt in packs. If you were a seal, which would you fear more, one great white shark or a fifteen-member pod of orcas? Orcas have little to fear from any predator other than humans. We can ponder who would win in a fair fight between an orca and a great white shark, but it's just a mental exercise. Orcas don't fight fair. They gang up on any threat.
Even smaller dolphins tend to dominate the environments in which they choose to live. They too hunt in packs and defend themselves cooperatively. There are cases of unprovoked attacks on a single shark by a pod of dolphins.
Finally, it's worth asking whether dominance is truly a sign of intelligence. Elephants are, by all accounts, stunningly intelligent. Elephants fear few predators, and they are well-adapted to their distinct niche in their environment. What would they gain by establishing dominance over their environment? Living in harmony with ones environment seems like a whole lot less work.
Read other answers by Katie Anne Holton on Quora:
- Do animals have different languages or dialects?
- Why do parrots talk but not chimpanzees?
- Which animals do women like the most?
from Quora http://ift.tt/2cmiVks
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