Death by a Thousand Pecks

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Death by a Thousand Pecks

From a whale watching boat near Valdes Peninsula in Argentina, marine biologist Maria Piotto observed a mother-calf pair of southern right whales. As the calf splashed around in the water playfully, a kelp gull hovered overhead and persistently swooped down to nab at the breaching baby whale’s flesh. The gull was attacking with such intensity, Piotto says, “that I thought the gull must be getting a really considerable meal.” Nautilus Members en…