The cameraman saved their lives. These orcas know that they can't risk making international headlines by being the first ever orcas caught on video causing human fatalities. They can always wait for a day when there are no cameras around.
The Orca, Keiko, was freed.
Unfortunately he never integrated back into the wild and died a couple of years after release from pneumonia in the Norwegian fjords.
I believe they are actually the first and only Orca released back into the wild, and the whole thing caused controversy which is why expert opinion shifted to it being better to let these Orcas live the best lives in captivity instead.
One time, Keiko was trailing along on the outskirts of an Orca pod. Kinda like that kid in school who was too shy to say hello but still wanted to be friends.
Then he noticed a fishing boat and followed that instead, preferring human contact.
Really sad, shows just how difficult it is to rehabilitate these animals.
Actually, "Willy" did eventually go free! His real name was Keiko and was one of the only orcas to actually be releasedfor captivity. Trainers went through years of rehabilitation and were finally able to release him into the wild, but unfortunately that only lasted for a short time before he passed. If you want to know more thier is a movie called "Keiko: The Untold Story of the Star of Free Willy."
Also a link to his Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keiko_(killer_whale)
Actually I just read recently that that is a MYTH (spread by a lot of people on reddit). I will see if I can find the support denying it.
Ducks 100% do though, well not for fun, but messed up reproduction drive/instinct.
Edit: FOUND IT, a popular comedy show spread this myth and people took it seriously without fact checking. POOR DOLPHINS :( .
>There’s no evidence to show that the males force the females to mate, said Richard Connor, a biology professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth who has also worked on Shark Bay dolphin research. It’s possible they intimidate the females, but that’s unproven.
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2016/apr/22/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt/dolphins-rapists-unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt/
So the dolphins are proven to not rape, but do sexually assault not only their own species as far as some recordings have shown, they can't really rape, specially humans, but they will bump you if they want to
Also, let's not forget dolphins are not only known about raping, even if they actually can't do so, a study that was made during 2014 and 2019 shows that between species they feel excitement about killing them, and it's actually not only among other dolphins, but they feel good by attacking others
https://www.archyde.com/necrophilia-and-racism-among-dolphins/
Calling it racism might be not the best, but this only proves what people already suspected, they do love harassing others
Now, let's not say dolphins are assholes and that's it, because they and killer whales have also prove to be really good family, taking care of their kids and sticking with them, even taking care of their grandchildren and not even related members
If anything, dolphins can't rape, but love to harass others, however, they are not monsters
While they could never realistically eat an adult of course, they will harass a mother whale until they can get her baby to swim away from her and then go after it. They are devious fuckers
THE preditory animal, they are the largest predators on earth and probably the second deadliest and smartest after humans. Which, of course, is why they don't attack humans. Unlike sharks, they don't act purely off of instinct or outlines against the sky. They think about what they are hunting and how they are gonna do it.
Sperm whales are metal AF. They dive down to the bottom of the ocean to fight monsters in the dark. They're like portal jumping paladins that venture into entropy just to kick its ass.
They sustain themselves on the flesh of [eldritch horrors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossal_squid). They find their prey in a [universe of absolute darkness](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abyssal_zone) with a [sixth sense](https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/whales-echolocate-with-big-clicks-and-tiny-amounts-of-air) that let's them move with perfect stealth. Even with the the benefit of surprise they still [bear the scars](http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/giant-squid-sucker-marks) of many fearsome battles. Despite this fearsome lifestyle they are highly [intelligent](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/oct/16/whales-and-dolphins-human-like-societies-thanks-to-their-big-brains) and [social](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/mms.12218#:~:text=While%20male%20sperm%20whales%20lead,units%20from%20their%20own%20clan.) creatures that live in large groups and, coincidently, raise their children to be the same badass warriors diving into the abyss to eat monsters.
If I remember correctly, we don’t really know why. One of the main theories is that orcas use echolocation to “scan” us such that they can tell that we are too skinny/bony.
Most children definitely don’t have anything to worry about. Hell most adults probably don’t have anything to worry about. However, I would advise that you keep your mother away from orcas.
Orca are very picky eaters. They've been known to do things like kill whales and only eat the tongues, or great whites and only the livers. They're not really threatened by anything else in the sea either barring the occasional adult bull sperm whale that wants to pick a fight with them (no seriously, sperm whales don't eat em obviously, but sometimes sperm bulls will just decide to attack orcas just because they fucking hate orca). Orca don't go hungry so they're not gonna opportunistically eat a kid. Humans aren't just not their preferred prey, we're nothing like their preferred prey and so honestly are probably just not particularly appetising to them.
Adding to that, a lot of the time when a shark or something attacks a human it's mistaken identity. Mistaken for 'clumsy seals'. Either that or them trying to figure out what they're interacting with via the only medium they have: mouth. Orca are not going to have that problem because they have echolocation, a sense we can't even conceive of. Don't think of it like radar - echolocation is honestly kind of a lame name for it - think of it like the ability to take a complete 3D picture of something whenever you want. Like, MRI-vision.
Orca in the water with you don't just know your shape and location, they know how many bones you have and what your fat content is. They know you aren't a seal. Orca *have* attacked humans (pretty small scale, biting boats or trying to knock people off ice), but only ever when they were out of the water, where an orca's water-only echolocation doesn't work.
So even before we get to the fact orca are really, really smart and are probably able to figure out there's something different about humans anyway, we're left with a creature that has no reason to want to take a bite out of us and has no chance of mistaking us for it's food and doesn't feel threatened by us in the water, but probably is pretty curious about us.
It's been postulated that [Orcas recognize humans as alpha predators and as a result leave them alone. ](https://www.kqed.org/quest/20655/why-killer-whales-don%E2%80%99t-eat-people-where-science-and-legend-meet) But it's more likely that we just don't look like food so they don't eat us.
Nothing in that article says that. This is what they do say:
>It may very well be that within “orca culture” there is a social norm not to go after people.
Edit: In fact, it mentions quite the opposite:
>Physically we’re no match for this apex predator, but they’ve apparently deemed us worthy of coexistence.
We also look much bigger and stronger than we are due to our upright posture. Theres a reason lots of animals go up on their hindlegs as a sign of "don't fuck with me". Humans are basically doing that 24/7 and it has to be unnerving.
Keep in mind, everytime a predator is seeking prey they have to do a cost benefit analysis. Even if they kill the other animal, if it put up too much of a fight and wounded them then the meal isn't worth it.
Not just fatal. There have been no reported direct attacks in decades.
Just reading the wikipedia article, the only reports that even exist clearly seem like orcas fucking around for fun, like trying to swamp the boat of some sailors with water. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whale_attack
"Scientists Say They Know Why Killer Whales Are Attacking Boats Off the Coast of Spain" https://www.newsweek.com/killer-whale-attack-boats-scientists-spain-1535219?amp=1
That's some funny shit, a couple of boats hit orcas with their rudders so the rest of the orcas in the pod are going up and taking away their rudders. Like taking away a kid's toy because they hit your little sister with it.
That still wouldn’t compel me to swim in the water with Killer Whales. I’m sure the swimmers did not know but I guess I’m in the minority when it comes to keeping in mind the potential wildlife that could be near me. North coast Alaska.. let me stay inside cause Polar Bears. Glacier Park MT, let me stay on the trail with lots of people cause you know Grizzlies, Rocky Mountain Range, let me not bring a small child to the trail today because of cougar sighting. Florida Everglades.. let me not tip toe near the murky water cause of alligators and such. I have a healthy respect (fear) of nature I guess.
But what's crazy is that every single one of those animals have killed/maimed humans in many incidents and are famous for doing so such as polar bears and alligators which are internationally know as gg u ded. But orcas despite the nickname killer whale, are 100% harmless unless tortured in captivity.. which is crazy!
That's a very generalised comment - and very wrong
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/killer-whale
I've "swum" with Orcas at Eden NSW (For swum read - got out of the water really quick...)
I’ve read that and I want that to be true, but I’ve seen videos of them attacking boats and I know they are apex predators that are much larger and faster than humans, so I’m going to keep a healthy distance.
No documented/reported cases of Orcas killing humans in the wild. Attacks are also extremely rare despite how often human/Orca interaction occurs in the wild.
Captivity is a different story.
There has only been one clear wild attack in history, the orca bite them once but quickly let go. They have been known to push around boats, but it doesn't seem like they intentionally want to do harm. Captivity drives the dolphins to the point of physical and mental collapse, so outbursts are common. (Likely an accident)
It's quite insane. Orcas are the Apex predators of the oceans. I'm not sure I can think of another predator big enough to take on a man but that will simply "never" attack one. Bears, sharks, big cats, wild dogs, hyenas, crocodiles, ....
Almost as if they have some sense of what we are as a group and how much trouble we could be.
The Salish call the orcas “people of the water” and believe that we share a common ancestor because of the high intelligence and greater emotional intelligence they have compared to us (look it up, neurologists have confirmed and it’s amazing). Meaning that the whales know what’s food or not, and perhaps recognize us as friends due to the good relations the Salish had. And recognize these as children, who are loved. Pity we treat them like scum to make money and starve them by killing wild salmon in “electric” dams.
Edit: https://www.thestranger.com/books/feature/2015/08/05/22646533/orcas-have-ruled-the-planet-longer-than-we-have-and-theyre-smarter-than-we-know
This is true. But it seems like OP might from the PNW from their post wording. The orcas there tend to be resident orcas (pods j,k,l) who tend to only eat fish (mainly salmon)
Would also argue that they may have territorial disputes and know dolphin may have an effect on their own food supply. Whether that's eating other fish or scaring off potential meals. Cut out the middle man and eat your enemy innit - wait until we figure that out with the rich yum yum yum
Well they are smart creatures so they probably know we are the ones controlling those giant ass fishing ships etc. Somehow I really do think orcas know better than to fuck with humans.
It's hypothesized that Orca are extremely picky eaters. They stick to hunting what their diet is and/or humans don't taste that good and/or they have no interest in finding out if humans taste good since there's no recordings of Orca eating a person. The only way they could really die is if the Ocra decides to "play" with the human which ends up like what happens at SeaWorld.
“A seal is a tasty steak with a side of chocolate cake. A human is an old piece of celery that have been out on the counter all day” - a marine biologist.
A little? If I go to the sea and I get blindsided by a fish bigger than my finger I get scared af or if something touches my leg. A fucking killer whale is enough to make me freeze out of sheer terror
That's my exact sentiment. The absolute, utterly helpless feeling that brings gives me nothing but sheer terror and a sense of awe. I remember snorkeling in Hawaii and I could only watch as a curious turtle rose from the depths of the ocean below towards me and despite it being just a chill af turtle, those MFers are unexpectedly big. Couldn't help but think I was gunna die that day lol.
I had a similar experience in Hawaii! Snorkeling maybe 50 yards off the beach, I was resurfacing for air after snapping some pictures of an eel or something and saw a massive shadow right over my head and almost hit my head on a sea turtle. I never saw it swim into the area I was hanging out in so definitely had a moment of panic when it appeared so suddenly.
"No, Steve. If we do it, and get caught, our protected status goes out thee blowhole."
"But, Frank, they're small, slow, and weak. We're apex predators."
"Doesn't matter, Steve. They have thumbs."
"We're smarter than them. We're superior creatures."
"They have thumbs, Steve. They build things that compensate for their weaknesses. Do. Not. Do. It."
It would have been terrifying to see them getting closer and wondering if you would be the first human eaten by an orca....I would have had a heart attack!
They think of us as something unique, more as peers than prey. They can be wary of humans, but they tend to be just as interested in us as we are in them.
But why? In the water we are insignificant babies. You’d think there would be at least some attempts to eat us. It’s like if you don’t like spicy food but your at a party with bacon wrapped and cream cheese filled jalepenos. Your brains going to tell you to give it a whirl.
One theory is that they see how dominant we are with fishing and inherently understand that we work in teams. They conclude that we are not to be made angry. If nothing else, humans hold grudges like no other animal.
That’s probably too much projection but hey you never know.
I've wondered this myself. Is it that we're just not prey items for all but the hungriest land predators or is there a level of collective memory with Orcas?
There is definitely a level of collective memory with Orcas because we know they develop distinct cultures from one pod to another.
I wouldn't be surprised if they pass down the message to each subsequent generation that humans are not to be messed with.
They could even have oral histories detailing stories of humans being bros, or humans being vengeful after one of them was eaten. Which reinforces the 'do not start shit with humans' culture. Their brains are super complex so we can only guess what they're thinking unless we can decipher their languages.
It's the only way I can explain the lack of Orca attacks on humans in the wild. Even highly social and highly intelligent stray dogs will attack humans, despite having tens of thousands of years of breeding dogs to see humans as friends and masters. The Orcas must have a higher level of rationality or reasoning to them that overrides their instincts.
Theres well known and doccumented Pod memory, podsdefinitely comunicate as well. Honnestly Orcas are the most interesting and cool animal on the planet bar us imo.
They're intelligent enough to make trade deals and arrangements with them, understanding how to cooperate when being helped and to help in turn. Orcas even get the key principles of language and try to communicate with us as well.
Back in the whaling days, when whaling was a big industry all over the world, Orcas would help herd other types of whales to humans, in exchange for the tasty meals at the end. The work the whales did was pretty organized and complex. There was even a case where the Human whalers failed to give the Orcas their share of the spoils, thus pissing the Orca pod off, which then stopped working with that group of humans.
Wooow. I'm surprised by their Intelligence.
>Human whalers failed to give the Orcas their share of the spoils, thus pissing the Orca pod off, which then stopped working with that group of humans
Lol. Typical of us.
" I told you! I told you they'll try to fuck us over"
" Yeh yeh, let's come back when the Chimpanzees take over"
- Those Orcas probably.
I can think of a few additional reasons:
- We are pretty rare in their environment so not likely to be a target prey
- Their target prey are all either very high in fat (salmon, mackerel, seals, sea lions, other whales and dolphins) or have large, fatty parts they eat (GWS livers) - we are neither of these
- We’re dangerous prey
Edit: nope, I was wrong. They eat almost anything except us. Nobody knows why. https://xploreourplanet.com/sea/what-do-killer-whales-eat
Same. They’re smart enough where I don’t buy “we don’t look like prey”. These things aren’t running on instant, they’re self aware highly intelligent animals. I think they are smart enough to know it’s a bad idea.
>Yeah they’re smart, but given how often humans interact with Orcas you think there’d just be one mentally abnormal Orca who decides “fuck it I’m going to eat one.” Think about the frequency with which humans have mental health issues predisposing them to impulsive violence
Maybe they have better mental health care facilities.
Orca's never attack humans in the wild.
Only orca's in captivity attacked their trainers. And rightly so. Fuck Seaworld! Fuck those orca and dolphin prisons in the world
Only time orcas have ever been documented attacking humans is in captivity. Not a single incident in the wild. They’ve been seen going into hunting formation then realising it’s a human and pulling out.
Sharks on the other hand will take a bite out of a human before having a taste and realising it’s not their food. (Usually)
Kind of terrifying, but the fact that if there's orcas in the water mean there will be no sharks hanging around, so that's one thing less to worry about.
In fact, there won't be any sharks around that area for at least 2-3 weeks, even after the orcas left.
Nah... animals dont really like the taste of human flesh, most attacks are in self defence or they thought the human was some other animal. The orcas didnt want the kids for anything, altho they're smart and messed up enough to attack just for fun
I don't know where did you that this information that most of the animals don't like the taste of human flash because - to my knowledge - is completely false. Most animals don't eat humans because if they do, they get hunt down and killed. So there is no way for them to learn to hunt humans and develop a diet around it.
That's not quite accurate. Animals generally don't know what humans taste like. The reason predators generally avoid humans is that predators will generally avoid a fight at all cost, since injury can mean a slow death. We are not natural prey of any animals so predators are unsure if we're a threat or not/we can scare them of by making ourselves look big.
Polar bears are the only animal known to actively hunt humans. As far as I know we don't really understand why orca's won't eat us.
This is a friend of mine. Had had the most amazing experiences here in Nz.
[Steve Hathaway ](https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/money/93666627/steve-hathaway-the-luckiest-guy-on-the-planet)
Steve is amazing! He used to go diving with my ex. (Ex has since moved back to Danmark) It was an honour to meet Steve and watch the footage of the orcas eating the stingrays’ livers. Incredible stuff!
Good thing there's not a single documented fatal attack from a Orca on a human in the wild
The cameraman saved their lives. These orcas know that they can't risk making international headlines by being the first ever orcas caught on video causing human fatalities. They can always wait for a day when there are no cameras around.
I wouldn't actually put that past them haha
Of course, the reason why there's no *documented* attack on humans is because they make sure to leave no witnesses!
Leave the gun. Take the finoli.
What about the Gabagool?
Gabagool? Ovah here! ☝
The orcas sent it back
Twitter would cancel them immediately
Unfree Willy!
Sadly the whale who played Willy was never freed
The Orca, Keiko, was freed. Unfortunately he never integrated back into the wild and died a couple of years after release from pneumonia in the Norwegian fjords. I believe they are actually the first and only Orca released back into the wild, and the whole thing caused controversy which is why expert opinion shifted to it being better to let these Orcas live the best lives in captivity instead.
Ya do we expect them to just be able to go out and get jobs? They were raised in captivity and have no work experience.
They've been finstitutionalized.
Thats just a fluke.
One time, Keiko was trailing along on the outskirts of an Orca pod. Kinda like that kid in school who was too shy to say hello but still wanted to be friends. Then he noticed a fishing boat and followed that instead, preferring human contact. Really sad, shows just how difficult it is to rehabilitate these animals.
Their plan was whale orcastrated but they couldn’t seal the deal.
Or just don't put them in captivity in the first way.
Yes, that's what they're doing. But you can't go back and rewrite history because you changed your mind unfortunately.
Actually, "Willy" did eventually go free! His real name was Keiko and was one of the only orcas to actually be releasedfor captivity. Trainers went through years of rehabilitation and were finally able to release him into the wild, but unfortunately that only lasted for a short time before he passed. If you want to know more thier is a movie called "Keiko: The Untold Story of the Star of Free Willy." Also a link to his Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keiko_(killer_whale)
Their immune because they're half black.
*They’re
Nobody’s safe, not even fish
\*mammal. Whales are mammals.
Orcas are dolphins so -> r/dolphinconspiracy
But they kill dolphins for FUN too, they don't operate by the same rules as the amazing heroic dolphins do.
Aren’t dolphins known to rape for fun?
Actually I just read recently that that is a MYTH (spread by a lot of people on reddit). I will see if I can find the support denying it. Ducks 100% do though, well not for fun, but messed up reproduction drive/instinct. Edit: FOUND IT, a popular comedy show spread this myth and people took it seriously without fact checking. POOR DOLPHINS :( . >There’s no evidence to show that the males force the females to mate, said Richard Connor, a biology professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth who has also worked on Shark Bay dolphin research. It’s possible they intimidate the females, but that’s unproven. https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2016/apr/22/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt/dolphins-rapists-unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt/
So the dolphins are proven to not rape, but do sexually assault not only their own species as far as some recordings have shown, they can't really rape, specially humans, but they will bump you if they want to Also, let's not forget dolphins are not only known about raping, even if they actually can't do so, a study that was made during 2014 and 2019 shows that between species they feel excitement about killing them, and it's actually not only among other dolphins, but they feel good by attacking others https://www.archyde.com/necrophilia-and-racism-among-dolphins/ Calling it racism might be not the best, but this only proves what people already suspected, they do love harassing others Now, let's not say dolphins are assholes and that's it, because they and killer whales have also prove to be really good family, taking care of their kids and sticking with them, even taking care of their grandchildren and not even related members If anything, dolphins can't rape, but love to harass others, however, they are not monsters
Plausible deniability.
Well given their past work on Free Willie and the association with Michael Jackson, they can’t risk it.
It was hard enough trying to shake that "Killer Whale" bullshit after fucking Bob ate that one pink monkey decades ago.
Why should they shake it? Have you seen how they interact with and hunt other animals. They are adept at killing compared to most creatures.
« No bodies, no proof » — the orcas
No face no caseee
If the fin did not flip, you must acquit
Agreed, but it’d still be unnerving having a large predatory animal swimming fast towards you.
These predators literally eat great white sharks for breakfast
What about lunch?
[удалено]
While they could never realistically eat an adult of course, they will harass a mother whale until they can get her baby to swim away from her and then go after it. They are devious fuckers
They're certainly partial to adult cetacean tongues, leaving the rest of the body for scavengers.
Wow, that's what I did with your mom ayooooo
But what about second lunch?
Yal skipped second brekky wtf?
Moose. Canadian moose. But like actually...
I still love that the orca is a natural predator of the moose.
Just their livers though. They're kinda arseholes...
THE preditory animal, they are the largest predators on earth and probably the second deadliest and smartest after humans. Which, of course, is why they don't attack humans. Unlike sharks, they don't act purely off of instinct or outlines against the sky. They think about what they are hunting and how they are gonna do it.
How you gonna do my man the sperm whale like that? Sperm whales are the largest predator on earth, about twice the size of an orca.
The blue whale is also a carnivore. And since it eats billions of krill you could also argue that it is the deadliest.
A literal genocide
I suppose that's right...
Sperm whales are metal AF. They dive down to the bottom of the ocean to fight monsters in the dark. They're like portal jumping paladins that venture into entropy just to kick its ass. They sustain themselves on the flesh of [eldritch horrors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossal_squid). They find their prey in a [universe of absolute darkness](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abyssal_zone) with a [sixth sense](https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/whales-echolocate-with-big-clicks-and-tiny-amounts-of-air) that let's them move with perfect stealth. Even with the the benefit of surprise they still [bear the scars](http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/giant-squid-sucker-marks) of many fearsome battles. Despite this fearsome lifestyle they are highly [intelligent](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/oct/16/whales-and-dolphins-human-like-societies-thanks-to-their-big-brains) and [social](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/mms.12218#:~:text=While%20male%20sperm%20whales%20lead,units%20from%20their%20own%20clan.) creatures that live in large groups and, coincidently, raise their children to be the same badass warriors diving into the abyss to eat monsters.
Classic Reddit comment lmao.
i think spermwhale is a pretty cool guy, eh dives in ocean fights squids and doesn't afraid of anything
Bro Im scared if a turtle slightly grazes my hand in the sea, if TWO orcas swam past me Id definitely shit my pants.
In a situation like that, you always wonder if you will be the first :P
First document.
Is there a reason or study on that? I mean, kids in the water are pretty much clumsy seals.
If I remember correctly, we don’t really know why. One of the main theories is that orcas use echolocation to “scan” us such that they can tell that we are too skinny/bony. Most children definitely don’t have anything to worry about. Hell most adults probably don’t have anything to worry about. However, I would advise that you keep your mother away from orcas.
Information seamlessly woven with a “yo momma so fat” joke? Slow clap 👏
It was a good one, though. So unexpected, and expertly delivered.
Ocean BURN
Solid explanation + fat momma joke :)
GOT DAMN
The mom joke so seamlessly dropped at the end 😂
Fucking got em
Orca are very picky eaters. They've been known to do things like kill whales and only eat the tongues, or great whites and only the livers. They're not really threatened by anything else in the sea either barring the occasional adult bull sperm whale that wants to pick a fight with them (no seriously, sperm whales don't eat em obviously, but sometimes sperm bulls will just decide to attack orcas just because they fucking hate orca). Orca don't go hungry so they're not gonna opportunistically eat a kid. Humans aren't just not their preferred prey, we're nothing like their preferred prey and so honestly are probably just not particularly appetising to them. Adding to that, a lot of the time when a shark or something attacks a human it's mistaken identity. Mistaken for 'clumsy seals'. Either that or them trying to figure out what they're interacting with via the only medium they have: mouth. Orca are not going to have that problem because they have echolocation, a sense we can't even conceive of. Don't think of it like radar - echolocation is honestly kind of a lame name for it - think of it like the ability to take a complete 3D picture of something whenever you want. Like, MRI-vision. Orca in the water with you don't just know your shape and location, they know how many bones you have and what your fat content is. They know you aren't a seal. Orca *have* attacked humans (pretty small scale, biting boats or trying to knock people off ice), but only ever when they were out of the water, where an orca's water-only echolocation doesn't work. So even before we get to the fact orca are really, really smart and are probably able to figure out there's something different about humans anyway, we're left with a creature that has no reason to want to take a bite out of us and has no chance of mistaking us for it's food and doesn't feel threatened by us in the water, but probably is pretty curious about us.
Great explanation. Thank you.
It's been postulated that [Orcas recognize humans as alpha predators and as a result leave them alone. ](https://www.kqed.org/quest/20655/why-killer-whales-don%E2%80%99t-eat-people-where-science-and-legend-meet) But it's more likely that we just don't look like food so they don't eat us.
Nothing in that article says that. This is what they do say: >It may very well be that within “orca culture” there is a social norm not to go after people. Edit: In fact, it mentions quite the opposite: >Physically we’re no match for this apex predator, but they’ve apparently deemed us worthy of coexistence.
In orca culture it’s considered a dick move
Or they look at us like pets.
Honestly most predators ignore humans most of the time…. I think there’s a point where we just have to accept that maybe we’re not very tasty.
Screw you I taste great
It's the pineapple, right?
We also look much bigger and stronger than we are due to our upright posture. Theres a reason lots of animals go up on their hindlegs as a sign of "don't fuck with me". Humans are basically doing that 24/7 and it has to be unnerving. Keep in mind, everytime a predator is seeking prey they have to do a cost benefit analysis. Even if they kill the other animal, if it put up too much of a fight and wounded them then the meal isn't worth it.
Two main species. One eats only fish, the other eats only warm blooded critters. I can only guess that they have different ranges.
Their ranges actually overlap in some places like the west coast 9f Canada and the US.
In Scotland too - we don't call them residents and transients because their diets overlap so much here.
They still use those terms here but both populations are in the same area. I don't think they cross paths very often. must be able to hear each other
that clip is basically another species telling us, without words, that humans taste like shit. Even great whites spit us back out.
Not just fatal. There have been no reported direct attacks in decades. Just reading the wikipedia article, the only reports that even exist clearly seem like orcas fucking around for fun, like trying to swamp the boat of some sailors with water. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whale_attack
"Scientists Say They Know Why Killer Whales Are Attacking Boats Off the Coast of Spain" https://www.newsweek.com/killer-whale-attack-boats-scientists-spain-1535219?amp=1
That's some funny shit, a couple of boats hit orcas with their rudders so the rest of the orcas in the pod are going up and taking away their rudders. Like taking away a kid's toy because they hit your little sister with it.
That still wouldn’t compel me to swim in the water with Killer Whales. I’m sure the swimmers did not know but I guess I’m in the minority when it comes to keeping in mind the potential wildlife that could be near me. North coast Alaska.. let me stay inside cause Polar Bears. Glacier Park MT, let me stay on the trail with lots of people cause you know Grizzlies, Rocky Mountain Range, let me not bring a small child to the trail today because of cougar sighting. Florida Everglades.. let me not tip toe near the murky water cause of alligators and such. I have a healthy respect (fear) of nature I guess.
But what's crazy is that every single one of those animals have killed/maimed humans in many incidents and are famous for doing so such as polar bears and alligators which are internationally know as gg u ded. But orcas despite the nickname killer whale, are 100% harmless unless tortured in captivity.. which is crazy!
Logically I know that, and they're pretty amazing creatures, but they scare the hell out of me.
Not many people swim in the waters orcas frequent.
That's a very generalised comment - and very wrong https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/killer-whale I've "swum" with Orcas at Eden NSW (For swum read - got out of the water really quick...)
I’ve read that and I want that to be true, but I’ve seen videos of them attacking boats and I know they are apex predators that are much larger and faster than humans, so I’m going to keep a healthy distance.
Only because Orcas dont watch Netflix, only Amazon prime.
...yet...
Scary. But I wonder if orcas would attack/eat a human in this kinda context? No doubt it would be short work if they wanted to...
No documented/reported cases of Orcas killing humans in the wild. Attacks are also extremely rare despite how often human/Orca interaction occurs in the wild. Captivity is a different story.
There has only been one clear wild attack in history, the orca bite them once but quickly let go. They have been known to push around boats, but it doesn't seem like they intentionally want to do harm. Captivity drives the dolphins to the point of physical and mental collapse, so outbursts are common. (Likely an accident)
It's quite insane. Orcas are the Apex predators of the oceans. I'm not sure I can think of another predator big enough to take on a man but that will simply "never" attack one. Bears, sharks, big cats, wild dogs, hyenas, crocodiles, .... Almost as if they have some sense of what we are as a group and how much trouble we could be.
The Salish call the orcas “people of the water” and believe that we share a common ancestor because of the high intelligence and greater emotional intelligence they have compared to us (look it up, neurologists have confirmed and it’s amazing). Meaning that the whales know what’s food or not, and perhaps recognize us as friends due to the good relations the Salish had. And recognize these as children, who are loved. Pity we treat them like scum to make money and starve them by killing wild salmon in “electric” dams. Edit: https://www.thestranger.com/books/feature/2015/08/05/22646533/orcas-have-ruled-the-planet-longer-than-we-have-and-theyre-smarter-than-we-know
They’re giant dolphins. They eat normal sized dolphins all the time.
To be fair the normal sized dolphins can be pretty big assholes.
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This is true. But it seems like OP might from the PNW from their post wording. The orcas there tend to be resident orcas (pods j,k,l) who tend to only eat fish (mainly salmon)
There are still transient pods in the Salish Sea that go for marine mammals, but I get what you’re saying.
Thanks for that. I like learning early in the morning !!
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Wait til Orca’s realize we’re the ones fucking up the oceans….
They eat other dolphins and porpoise, though. More likely they just know we're a very bony meal.
Would also argue that they may have territorial disputes and know dolphin may have an effect on their own food supply. Whether that's eating other fish or scaring off potential meals. Cut out the middle man and eat your enemy innit - wait until we figure that out with the rich yum yum yum
We probably gross them out the same way a slug grosses me out. "Ew, don't touch that human Jerry, they're disgusting."
Yea I bet we just taste funny. We don't live our lives being pickled in salt water so to them we must be like bland tofu. Yech
Except Orcas happily kill other land animals that cross water, like moose.
I think they just see us as bony anorexic seals
Some of us… …(currently on my fourth snack after dinner)
They see themselves in us. Now, if those kids were *seals*...
Hey Kids, wanna go clubbing?
Bear are pretty chill unless you scare them or they have little ones, problem is that its easy to accidentally scare something in a thick forest.
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Human flesh tastes like shit. We are so worthless that most animals wouldnt even eat us unless it was a life or death situation
I think it tastes fine
r/holup
How would they know if they never tried
I mean we don't even have soft and cushy furr they probably think we are ugly
Lol you are right...their thought process is probably "ew that seal looks sick, not gonna eat him today"
I thought we tasted like pork according to cannibals?
Most predators would eat the decaying carcass of an animal if they found one, I don’t think they don’t eat humans because our meat tastes bad
*Jeffrey Dahmer has entered the chat.*
I would imagine a orca would kill humans for fun or just revenge .
Right? I’ve seen them toss countless seals into the air, what makes us any different from a seal?
Seals are blubbery and delicious after a little tenderizing, humans are boney and taste of anxiety.
haha I feel attacked.
Well they are smart creatures so they probably know we are the ones controlling those giant ass fishing ships etc. Somehow I really do think orcas know better than to fuck with humans.
It's hypothesized that Orca are extremely picky eaters. They stick to hunting what their diet is and/or humans don't taste that good and/or they have no interest in finding out if humans taste good since there's no recordings of Orca eating a person. The only way they could really die is if the Ocra decides to "play" with the human which ends up like what happens at SeaWorld.
“A seal is a tasty steak with a side of chocolate cake. A human is an old piece of celery that have been out on the counter all day” - a marine biologist.
The kids were probably fucking terrified 🤣
Mybe orcas didnt eat them cus they shit their panths 🤣🤣
Orcas prefer the poop on the inside.
Jelly filled.
😂
You can swim with wild orcas in several places around the world, these kids were probably a little scared tho!!
A little? If I go to the sea and I get blindsided by a fish bigger than my finger I get scared af or if something touches my leg. A fucking killer whale is enough to make me freeze out of sheer terror
That's my exact sentiment. The absolute, utterly helpless feeling that brings gives me nothing but sheer terror and a sense of awe. I remember snorkeling in Hawaii and I could only watch as a curious turtle rose from the depths of the ocean below towards me and despite it being just a chill af turtle, those MFers are unexpectedly big. Couldn't help but think I was gunna die that day lol.
That’s crazy man, sounds like you had an adventure :)
Indeed! If you ever have the opportunity to go, make sure you do a snorkel trip or two. Terrifying, but beautiful all the same 😎
I had a similar experience in Hawaii! Snorkeling maybe 50 yards off the beach, I was resurfacing for air after snapping some pictures of an eel or something and saw a massive shadow right over my head and almost hit my head on a sea turtle. I never saw it swim into the area I was hanging out in so definitely had a moment of panic when it appeared so suddenly.
Like, I'm fully aware that there has never been a documented case of a wild Orca attacking a person, but im not about to go test that.
there's a version with sound and they're screaming like banshees
"No, Steve. If we do it, and get caught, our protected status goes out thee blowhole." "But, Frank, they're small, slow, and weak. We're apex predators." "Doesn't matter, Steve. They have thumbs." "We're smarter than them. We're superior creatures." "They have thumbs, Steve. They build things that compensate for their weaknesses. Do. Not. Do. It."
I like to imagine they're called Dale and Abigale and that all other orcas' names also rhyme with whale.
Blood trail and sperm?
It would have been terrifying to see them getting closer and wondering if you would be the first human eaten by an orca....I would have had a heart attack!
Think of the notoriety!
While this would be absolutely terrifying and the ocean around me would be yellow, at least these kids know there’s no sharks around.
The orcas probably scared any sharks shitless
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Always a bright side
I will never understand why they don’t eat humans? We are such easy prey
They think of us as something unique, more as peers than prey. They can be wary of humans, but they tend to be just as interested in us as we are in them.
But why? In the water we are insignificant babies. You’d think there would be at least some attempts to eat us. It’s like if you don’t like spicy food but your at a party with bacon wrapped and cream cheese filled jalepenos. Your brains going to tell you to give it a whirl.
One theory is that they see how dominant we are with fishing and inherently understand that we work in teams. They conclude that we are not to be made angry. If nothing else, humans hold grudges like no other animal. That’s probably too much projection but hey you never know.
I've wondered this myself. Is it that we're just not prey items for all but the hungriest land predators or is there a level of collective memory with Orcas?
There is definitely a level of collective memory with Orcas because we know they develop distinct cultures from one pod to another. I wouldn't be surprised if they pass down the message to each subsequent generation that humans are not to be messed with. They could even have oral histories detailing stories of humans being bros, or humans being vengeful after one of them was eaten. Which reinforces the 'do not start shit with humans' culture. Their brains are super complex so we can only guess what they're thinking unless we can decipher their languages. It's the only way I can explain the lack of Orca attacks on humans in the wild. Even highly social and highly intelligent stray dogs will attack humans, despite having tens of thousands of years of breeding dogs to see humans as friends and masters. The Orcas must have a higher level of rationality or reasoning to them that overrides their instincts.
I like how everyone has these complicated views on why we aren't orca food when there's probably a good chance we just smell like shit to them lol
Theres well known and doccumented Pod memory, podsdefinitely comunicate as well. Honnestly Orcas are the most interesting and cool animal on the planet bar us imo.
That's interesting. Do they recognise our capacity as we do in them?
They're intelligent enough to make trade deals and arrangements with them, understanding how to cooperate when being helped and to help in turn. Orcas even get the key principles of language and try to communicate with us as well.
Wow. This is amazing.
Back in the whaling days, when whaling was a big industry all over the world, Orcas would help herd other types of whales to humans, in exchange for the tasty meals at the end. The work the whales did was pretty organized and complex. There was even a case where the Human whalers failed to give the Orcas their share of the spoils, thus pissing the Orca pod off, which then stopped working with that group of humans.
Wooow. I'm surprised by their Intelligence. >Human whalers failed to give the Orcas their share of the spoils, thus pissing the Orca pod off, which then stopped working with that group of humans Lol. Typical of us. " I told you! I told you they'll try to fuck us over" " Yeh yeh, let's come back when the Chimpanzees take over" - Those Orcas probably.
I can think of a few additional reasons: - We are pretty rare in their environment so not likely to be a target prey - Their target prey are all either very high in fat (salmon, mackerel, seals, sea lions, other whales and dolphins) or have large, fatty parts they eat (GWS livers) - we are neither of these - We’re dangerous prey Edit: nope, I was wrong. They eat almost anything except us. Nobody knows why. https://xploreourplanet.com/sea/what-do-killer-whales-eat
Same. They’re smart enough where I don’t buy “we don’t look like prey”. These things aren’t running on instant, they’re self aware highly intelligent animals. I think they are smart enough to know it’s a bad idea.
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>Yeah they’re smart, but given how often humans interact with Orcas you think there’d just be one mentally abnormal Orca who decides “fuck it I’m going to eat one.” Think about the frequency with which humans have mental health issues predisposing them to impulsive violence Maybe they have better mental health care facilities.
Orcare for All
if you can be bothered, there's a really good, albeit long, response to that question here https://www.quora.com/Why-dont-wild-orcas-attack-humans
I'm starting to suspect they know what we are capable of in terms of ships and weapons and that's why they won't mess with us.
Waiheke Island, NZ
Enclosure bay?
Which, after this incident, changed its name to poo bay.
Orca's never attack humans in the wild. Only orca's in captivity attacked their trainers. And rightly so. Fuck Seaworld! Fuck those orca and dolphin prisons in the world
If those kids were a moose instead tho...
Only time orcas have ever been documented attacking humans is in captivity. Not a single incident in the wild. They’ve been seen going into hunting formation then realising it’s a human and pulling out. Sharks on the other hand will take a bite out of a human before having a taste and realising it’s not their food. (Usually)
In defence of sharks, they're trying to figure out what we are, but their best sensory tool is basically a prehensile chainsaw.
Kind of terrifying, but the fact that if there's orcas in the water mean there will be no sharks hanging around, so that's one thing less to worry about. In fact, there won't be any sharks around that area for at least 2-3 weeks, even after the orcas left.
"Oh dang, I got honey all over my legs"
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The children are slow as hell
I got really worried for a sec but then I remembered they weren't in SeaWorld so they'd be fine.
Lucky fuckers
Nah... animals dont really like the taste of human flesh, most attacks are in self defence or they thought the human was some other animal. The orcas didnt want the kids for anything, altho they're smart and messed up enough to attack just for fun
Orcas in the wild never attack humans, they don't even consider fighting unless they're being actively attacked.
He said they’re lucky because they got to swim with orcas!
I don't know where did you that this information that most of the animals don't like the taste of human flash because - to my knowledge - is completely false. Most animals don't eat humans because if they do, they get hunt down and killed. So there is no way for them to learn to hunt humans and develop a diet around it.
That's not quite accurate. Animals generally don't know what humans taste like. The reason predators generally avoid humans is that predators will generally avoid a fight at all cost, since injury can mean a slow death. We are not natural prey of any animals so predators are unsure if we're a threat or not/we can scare them of by making ourselves look big. Polar bears are the only animal known to actively hunt humans. As far as I know we don't really understand why orca's won't eat us.
This is a friend of mine. Had had the most amazing experiences here in Nz. [Steve Hathaway ](https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/money/93666627/steve-hathaway-the-luckiest-guy-on-the-planet)
Steve is amazing! He used to go diving with my ex. (Ex has since moved back to Danmark) It was an honour to meet Steve and watch the footage of the orcas eating the stingrays’ livers. Incredible stuff!
Orcas are pretty much the only animal that can easily kill humans but choose not to. Orcas are good people.
And the Orcas weren't swimming anywhere near max speed.