Fish & Water - Sounds Wild
Fast Whales, Faster Fish

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Fast whales, faster fish

The protected Inside Waters of Southeast Alaska are a network of islands, fjords and waterways offering outstanding wildlife watching. North Pass, in Lynn Canal north of Juneau, is well-known as an excellent area for watching humpback whales. But one group of whale watchers was surprised one rainy August afternoon to see not humpbacks, but a pod of killer whales speeding through the waters of North Pass. The killer whales were chasing a Dall's porpoise.

These two animals are considered to be the fastest marine mammals on Earth. Both the Dall's porpoise and the killer whale have been clocked swimming more than 30 miles per hour. They are able to increase their speed by porpoising, a combination of swimming at the surface and leaping from the water. On this day, the animals were highly motivated: the killer whales were racing for their dinner, and the porpoise was swimming for his life. But killer whales have more going for them than speed, they are cunning strategists. The whales teamed up on the porpoise, herding the animal and swimming in relays until they were able to outmaneuver the exhausted porpoise.

Killer whales typically swim about six to eight miles and hour when they travel. These marine mammals are fast, but they're not the fastest swimmers in the sea. That honor goes to tuna, marlin and sailfish. It's difficult to accurately measure the speed of a fish, and a short burst of speed that includes multiple leaps from the water may exaggerate swimming speed. But observations by anglers and researchers indicate that powerful bluefin and yellowfin tuna can swim up to 43 miles an hour. Marlin have hit burst of speed around 50 miles an hour, and swordfish and sailfish hooked by fishermen have topped 60 miles an hour in leaping, line-stripping bursts of speed.