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About the Cover
The orca, or more commonly known as the killer whale, is one of the most intelligent — and lethal — predators in the sea. Orcas are incredibly smart and have often been seen using problem-solving techniques in the wild as they learn to hunt and even steal fish straight out of the nets of fishing boats. With the second-heaviest brains among marine mammals, orcas have a broad capacity for learning and general intelligence.
Most people know orcas through their playful choreographed performances at Sea World. In the wild, however, orcas are more than just playful mammals; they form highly complex social and familiar relationships that parallel the types of group bonding found in elephants and humans.
Although orcas are found in large numbers in most oceans around the world, tracking their migration patterns has proved difficult despite decades of research, since entire groups of orca are known to simply disappear at times, only to reappear months later.
In fact, machine learning is starting to play a part in tracking the migration patterns of large whales, with up to 98% accuracy. Read more about how machine learning is helping measure the impact of human activities on whales here: