Cetacean alignment chart
Posted by BlueWhale9891@reddit | whales | View on Reddit | 43 comments
Posted by BlueWhale9891@reddit | whales | View on Reddit | 43 comments
Climentiy@reddit
Sperm whale: neutral Meanwhile Moby Dick:
Earthly_Delights_@reddit
Most Dick, while not a real whale, was based off an actual whale that attacked and sunk a ship in real life. In the Heart of the Ocean is an excellent read and documents the events that lead up to and follow this
chocolate_cooper@reddit
Idk if it's too late to reply but Moby dick was based off a real whale called Mocha dick. I have a post on my profile about sperm whales and even about mocha too
Hirsute_hemorrhoid@reddit
Caitlin Doughty from Ask a Mortician talks about how some experts speculate that it was a juvenile sperm whale who mistook the ship for a competing male. Does Heart of the Sea have any theories like this?
Earthly_Delights_@reddit
Essentially, yes. It was a semi large male but possibly not fully developed or maybe a little “crazy.” It saw the ship as competition and decided to attack by ramming it over and over.
The romanticized version is that it was doing this as vengeance for the whalers killing its family; which is what the whalers may have believed, although there’s no evidence of that being the case.
TolBrandir@reddit
It is true indeed. I always root for Moby Dick, and the whale that inspired the story.
Smax140@reddit
Moby Dick, much like the Empire, did nothing wrong.
MeepersToast@reddit
Orcas are definitely are chaotic evil. They f with animals for kicks
BlueWhale9891@reddit (OP)
so do dolphins, orcas at least have “rules” that they commonly apply to
disastermarch35@reddit
Aren't orcas members of the dolphin family, scientifically?
Ellisrsp@reddit
Same with the Natural Evil pilot whales
BlueWhale9891@reddit (OP)
yes, indeed they are
diamondhands@reddit
They are both a porpoise and a cetacean.
TeTrodoToxin4@reddit
Orcas are the DElves of the ocean. They will maim animals for fun/training. Live in a matriarchal society. Matriarchs will murder calves to make females available for their sons.
They are organized in their evil.
Bottlenose dolphins are chaotic neutral. They will save other animals, including humans. They also will get high on pufferfish and have their way with other animals despite their protests. They are a mixed bag.
Hard to say which species is chaotic evil. There are some lone orcas that probably qualify.
SurayaThrowaway12@reddit
Eh, infanticide amongst orcas is likely quite rare as a sexual strategy.
Taken from ["Sex in Killer Whales: Behavior, Exogamy, and the Evolution of Sexual Strategies in the Ocean’s Apex Predator"] (https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-35651-3_16):
TeTrodoToxin4@reddit
Rare but it has happened.
https://youtu.be/trp29QL-Buw?si=2dJ2gVJjPurg9n0z
TesseractToo@reddit
Yeah you're going to have to explain these
BlueWhale9891@reddit (OP)
ok here goes.
Humpback: Lawful good. humpbacks are known for defending other species, such as other whale species calves, seals, sea lions, and humans.
Blue Whale: Neutral good. they are chill
Beluga: Chaotic good. they seemingly don't have a set of "rules" they follow, similar to dolphins with their playful nature, but not "evil" like dolphins
Right whale: unlike many other large whales, these fellas are not afraid of boats. sadly this often results in collisions. while they are friendly this behaviour gave them the "neutral" category
Cachalot (sperm whale): Neutral. Cachalots in the past have been known for occasionally being ship-breakers intentionally. however, this was during the olden days of whaling ships, outside of that they are very passive
Narwhal: Chaotic neutral. Honestly idk, this was the only slot filler (sorry narwhal, but you're just a shy-natured fella, with a bit of "chaotic energy")
Orca: Chaotic evil. Orcas are known for playing with their food, killing for practice/sport and being wasteful (sharks) however they aren't unhinged like their dolphin relatives, they seemingly abide by specific organized rules.
Pilot whale: Neutral evil. Pilot whales are known for chasing orcas out of their territory, and have been recorded to mob attack sperm whales and humpbacks, they seem very big on personal space and embody "get off me lawn!"
Dolphin: Chaotic evil. Dolphins kill for sport, similar to orcas, have been recorded to behave sexually towards many different things, and are known to form "rape gangs". they are also known for getting high from harassing pufferfish. they seemingly have some kinda of "vendetta" against porpoises and quite often kill them for no reason, without hesitation.
BlueWhaleKing@reddit
Based.
nrcx@reddit
Dolphins don't have "rape gangs." That's a myth that's become popular because humans are also chaotic evil and love tearing down good reputations, whether they belong to other humans or other species. What male dolphins (of some species) do is, in the actual literature, called "mate guarding." A female dolphin in estrus is the horniest thing alive and will mate with absolutely anything. Males try to keep her from mating with other males, but there is no evidence that the sex itself is ever nonconsentual.
TesseractToo@reddit
This is in places just arbitrary and also very human-centric isn't it
The cachalots that broke the boats were defending their families and other whales from a terrible fate, they were heroes
And just because something didn't evolve to move doesn't make it neutral
And the last section? You have specific species all up until the last category which is a huge group of cetaceans, and many other cetaceans do the things you are accusing dolphins of doing, eg humpback males form gangs and run down and attack females as well
BlueWhale9891@reddit (OP)
exactly why Cachalots is in true neutral, they get attacked, and they fight back
with dolphins, it's more than just gaining up on females though, it's being just plain "mean" killing babies, harassing other dolphins, and kidnapping.
TesseractToo@reddit
A lot of shales fight back when attacked. Whalers would chase and exhaust nursing moms with babies, and harpoon the exhausted baby to get the mom in range. Many whales would fight back and get called "devilfish"
And again, dolphin isn't one species there are about 50. Not all of them do the things you are saying since is a diverse group of animals.
BlueWhale9891@reddit (OP)
true
BlueWhaleKing@reddit
I'm trying to be chaotic good, but I guess I'm not quite there yet.
EvenLouWhoz@reddit
I'm a narwhal! 👏
Sirpatron1@reddit
All the evils are dolphins
TrollOfTheTaiga@reddit
This is amazing and spot on!
yeehawsharknado@reddit
Ooo that would switch the sperm whale and the narwhal. Sperm whales have beef with colossal squids so I feel like that makes them a little more chaotic.
SapphireLungfish@reddit
Orcas should be in chaotic evil otherwise I agree
ididyourbrother@reddit
What’s the whale in lawful neutral? A bowhead?
Bongsley_Nuggets@reddit
That is a Right Whale
BlueWhale9891@reddit (OP)
Pilot Whale
Ferociousaurus@reddit
Don't think I could articulate why without sounding like an insane person. But these all seem basically right to me.
ItsABiscuit@reddit
Fuck calling animals evil, and especially fuck the Reddit obsession with dolphins being assholes. You people are funded by Big Tuna, I'm sure of it.
pinkgreenandbetween@reddit
Is this sarcastic? If not, seek help.
ItsABiscuit@reddit
Which part? The "whales and dolphins are animals" bit or the big tuna bit?
BlueWhale9891@reddit (OP)
it's for humour, but yea I agree. most Redditors don't understand, nor comprehend: that all animals (minus humans) have no morals and they quite often fail to understand that nearly every animal serves some purpose of an ecological niche
RevolutionaryGrape11@reddit
Appreciate the "wings of New England" getting their proper spot.
doxtorwhom@reddit
Orcas are chaotic neutral
BlueWhale9891@reddit (OP)
true
pikachucet2@reddit
I mean...I don't see Orcas as evil per se...arseholes maybe but they're like Cats
PugPockets@reddit
Look, I love cats and orcas, but anything that plays with their terrified food instead of killing it immediately does likely fit into evil side of the chart 😬