[Fish] Orca Tactics
Moa’s mother had once told her a story about orcas.
Orcas were sometimes called “the Tokotas of the sea” because they hunted in packs and ruled the sea as Tokotas did the land. Nothing was safe from orcas. Not the enormous seal-hunting sharks of the south that grew up to thirty feet or the blue whales who were the largest creatures known in Tokotna. They were the terror of the seas, and even if they usually spurrned land prey it was not unheard of for a Tokota, even an adult one, to be snatched from the water.
However, some Tokotas who loved the sea dearly also loved the orcas. A rare few had spent years upon years following packs of orcas around and they claimed that they were just as intelligent as Tokotas or humans were, if in a different way. Moa wasn’t sure about that, but she did know that other information those same Tokotas had gleaned was incredibly valuable.
It was Cobalt who found the school of tuna , but in the water, Moa and her pack worked as a team. Kino and Cobalt’s argument was forgotten, and Tonraq’s role as leader was unquestionably accepted, just as it would be in any hunt. There was a time for social disagreement or hierarchy restructuring, but in the middle of trying to catch prey to survive was not that time.
Tonraq and Moa, the best swimmers, moved wide around the school, careful not to alert them too early. The fish knew they were there, of course, but they didn’t know they were the target yet. At the same time, Cobalt and Kino spread out on the other side of the school, staying near the surface so they could breathe easily, but prepared for action at the signal from Tonraq. In that, at least, fishing was easier than hunting. Usually you didn’t have the ability to see your packmates during a hunt, as you all had to stay hidden. There was nowhere to hide in the water, so there was typically no issue with timing.
Tonraq, now in position, stopped to direct Cobalt and Kino to spread out more, keeping the fish encircled even though there were so few of them, and Moa took a moment to catch a breath, then duck under the water again to take a look at the fish. These were Skipjack Tuna, a medium sized, fast-swimming, open water fish that preferred the warm waters of the south. They were bright silver, although in the water they could appear blue, but were most identifiable by their delicate tail and the high front of their dorsal fin that then sloped downwards. Only rarely did you find them alone, and today they were in true form, in a large school that was feeding near the surface.
Returning to the surface, Moa took another breath. There were deep diving Tokotas that could hold their breath for up to half an hour, but they were fishers, not trained divers. She found her packmates there, all doing the same as her. Tonraq gave them the signal they had been waiting for, and they dove back down.
Cobalt and Kino moved in first, wide sweeps that gradually moved the fish away from them. They worked together well, criss-crossing their arcs to maximize the pressure on the fish and keeping the other well informed of their status via sign language. When one needed to go up for air, the other covered their position by extending their path, and when they returned they swapped placed so that neither of them needed to be concerned about drowning or abandoned the other without warning.
On the opposite side of the fish, Moa and Tonraq were doing much the same. The issue, for the fish, came when there was nowhere left to retreat to. The ones on the outside pushed in until they were all clustered into a tight ball, and every way they turned they were faced with another Tokota. At any point the fish could have split up and darted away through the gaps between the Tokotas, but they were too afraid to attempt it. The pack benefitted from their tendency to stay in schools, just like the orcas did when they hunted these waters. These were, after all, their tactics.
By now, Cobalt and Kino were much closer than they had started, close enough that Moa could clearly see them either around the fish or in the few cases that there were gaps between them, usually when there were only three of them. It only took a little more pushing before Tonraq was satisfied with the state of the shoal of tuna. He signaled to Cobalt and Kino, then turned to Moa and gave her the unique sign to begin.
Moa swam up, towards the surface, which wasn’t very far now as they had intentionally trapped the fish against it to prevent escape by going up. Taking a moment to catch her breath after holding it for so long, Moa returned to the fishing. Trusting her friends to keep the shoal intact, she went straight through them at a diagonal. Her first fish was caught right on the outskirts, her teeth snapping right through its head and killing it instantly, and Moa turned to quickly tuck it into the sack she carried. Never faltering as she swam, she managed to snag a second one in the middle of the shoal, but her aim was off on this one and she was forced to carry it through with her as it squirmed. Reaching the other side, she grabbed the fish between her forepaws and bit the head, before shoving it into the sack as well.
Cobalt and Kino had moved further apart while she was occupied with catching fish and Tonraq had been forced to loop lower, but her pack had kept the fish together. As she returned to her place, Moa took the chance to look around. Sometimes the blood from this type of fishing could draw in predators, usually small to medium sized sharks who were more often another prey source than a threat, but the sharks could also be larger or aggressive enough that they required that all attention be turned to them and the fish had to be surrendered in exchange for safety.
Tonraq seemed to be doing the same, but there was nothing in sight other than their fish. Moa moved back into position, and Tonraq sent in Cobalt. She wasn’t as fast a swimmer as Moa was, but she was better at targeting, and she came out without a fish in her mouth but something new in her bag. Moa wasn’t sure how many she had caught, but it was at least two. Like Moa had, she swam out the bottom and spent a moment there, helping pressure the fish back up.
Next was Kino, who was the most inexperienced of the pack when it came to fishing, but always determined to learn and push herself to do her best. She mimicked the diagonal swim that Moa and Cobalt had taken, although Moa thought she was swimming a bit too fast, and she came out with a fish secured in her jaws, although it seemed to be already dead. It took time to learn the process and perform it without problems, and Moa thought that Kino was doing great for the time she had been with them. Last of all, before the cycle started again, Tonraq went in, Moa watching eagerly to see if he, the most experienced of them, could catch more than she and Cobalt had.
Fishing was more difficult than land hunting, but it also had its own benefits.