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scotty-doesnt_know t1_j6fon5i wrote

whales are significantly smarter than we dare claim them to be. If dolphins are self aware, you can be damn sure so are whales, even if it has hasnt been proven yet. They know who runs the oceans and the world. Back in the day if a human was injured or killed by an animal (thinking mostly types of sharks) we would kill every single type of that species in the area. Some times we were not even that specific and just went with any type of shark or w/e. Once we stopped hunting them (for the most part) they learned that if they left us alone we would leave them alone. They then learned if they helped us, we would help them. Whales are one of the very few wild animals that live by the "do unto others" idea. I would not doubt they even had their own whale jesus, and we were the ones that crucified him.

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chipkoandolan t1_j6gnv4g wrote

This is true. Fin whales, humpbacks, sperm whales and orcas have all been found to have spindle neurons, the cells in human brains that are responsible for empathy, social interaction and organisation and speech.

There are plenty of uncomfortable conversations that humans need to have with themselves, but this particular one ranks highly imo.

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Citizen_Kong t1_j6hodr7 wrote

Humans as a whole are a bunch of high functioning psychopaths, only restrained by a very thin veil of civilisation and morals.

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Soulgee t1_j6hr02i wrote

Not at all unsurprising for the world's apex predator.

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WilliamMorris420 t1_j6ghkbn wrote

Probably the biggest cause of death for Sperm Whales is getting hit by a boat and its propellers.

>Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), currently listed as a vulnerable species, are severely impacted by ship strikes. Nearly 60% of sperm whales’ deaths are due to ship strikes in the Canary Islands.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2019.00379/full

The figures will vary by region but if a Sperm Whale doesn't get washed ashore. There's little way to know how it died or that it actually died. The other leading causes of death seem to be pollution, marine debris and malnutrition probably caused by us over fishing.

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jimb2 t1_j6hf6yp wrote

Self awareness and intelligence are a continuum, not a yes/no. We only think this because all the other hominid species along our evolutionary path are gone leaving a big gap.

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milddecay t1_j6glhhh wrote

Ugh, we still kill whales with shipping vessels, pollution and fishing lines.

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ghotiaroma t1_j6jbrjr wrote

> whales are significantly smarter than we dare claim them to be.

Interesting claim of how smart they are.

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