Orca commonly known as Killer whales are one the beautiful creature of the ocean but have you ever thought that is Orca friendly to humans? Scientists are still researching this topic but generally, Orca doesn’t attack humans.
It belongs to the oceanic dolphin family and is recognizable by the black-and-white pattern on its body. The lifespan of the orca is 10 to 45 years and they can swim 56 km/hour speed that means if you are swimming in the ocean and suddenly an orca appears and chess you then you can’t outrun because Orca is fast enough to catch you easily but the question is, Are they attack human?
Are Orca whales Friendly To Humans?
Orcas aka Killer whales are friendly to humans. The name sounds dangerous but they are friendly to humans. Ocra belongs to the dolphin family and we all know dolphins are one of the most intelligent aquatic animals and friendly to humans. Another proof that Orca is friendly is that you must have heard about the Killer Whale show. If you didn’t hear about the Killer whale show that you can search on the internet you will find many videos.
Killer whales aka Orca are trainable and we can see their performance. If any animal is easily trainable that means they are friendly to humans.
In the circus, Tigers and lions are trained which means they are friendly with a human? No! They are not friendly but in the case of Killer whales, they are a little bit friendly to humans.
In Killer whale show, we have seen that they perform very perfectly with humans. They perform very unbelievable actions. So we can say Orca are friendly with humans but that doesn’t mean you go near them in the ocean and try to play with them. If they feel unsafe in front of you they can attack you to avoid danger.
Are Orca whales Dangerous To Humans?
Generally, they aren’t dangerous to humans and they are not interested in attacking humans intentionally but sometimes they might attack you. There has not been any case registered of Orcas attacking humans intentionally. Sometimes they have seen playing with humans and there is a rare chance that Orca may attack humans.
Till now four human death are recorded by Killer whales. Three of these were by a Tilikum named killer whale. Tilikum was a male killer whale that was captured in Iceland in 1983 at Hafnarfjörður, near Reykjavík. About a year later, he was transferred to Sealand of the Pacific in Victoria, British Columbia.
The first death by a killer whale was recorded on 20 February 1991. The three whales submerged her, dragging her around the pool and preventing her from surfacing. This way a 21-year-old marine biology student and competitive swimmer Keltie Byrne lost her life. She was slipped and fell into the pool containing Tilikum, Haida II, and Nootka IV. These three killer whales dragged her around the pool without listening to the trainer’s commands.
On 6 July 1999, a 27-year-old man, Daniel P. Dukes, was found dead over Tilikum’s back in his sleeping pool.
On February 24, 2010, Tilikum killed Dawn Brancheau, a 40-year-old trainer. Brancheau was killed following a Dine with Shamu show.
These were the three cases in which a killer whale Tilikum was involved. So the conclusion is that killer whales attack, humans, rarely but that doesn’t mean they can’t attack. So it is better to not involve yourself in their activities.
Orcas vs whales
Orcas don’t hesitate to attack whales because whales are full of protein and taking a bite of whales means eating protein. Orcas aka killer whales are well known for their hunting skill. In their food list penguin, fishes, seals, and whales are common food.
They can attack bigger whales than them. They attack groups and are known as apex predators.
Are killer whales safe to swim with?
Yes! It is safe but no one can say what will happen. It depends on their mood, if they are in good mood they won’t attack but if they are distributed then they might attack you. Generally, they don’t attack humans sometimes they have seen them playing with humans.
is it illegal to swim with orcas?
In some countries and states, it is illegal to swim with orcas even boating near them is prohibited. Orcas are known as apex predators so they should be treated respectfully.
Are orcas smart?
Yes! Of course. Orcas belong to the dolphin family and we all know that dolphins are one of the most intelligent marine animals thus Orcas are intelligent animals. They are trainable and can learn the difficult task. They perform many amazing tasks which can’t be performed by every marine animal so we can say that Orcas are one of the most intelligent marine animals.
