Killer Whale attacks ?? Give me a Break !!!

If a Killer Whale attacked you would you still be here ???



Pulling a man under water doesn't seem like much of an attack from a creature that is a KILLER MACHINE !! We aren't talking about an aligator's method of killing people ... Grab them taking them under water to suffocate them, we are talking about an animal that could swallow a seal.

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Mod Edit: cap title

[edit on 30-11-2006 by kinglizard]

If he had really been attacked he'd be dead. The whale was either playing a bit much or got ticked at him for some reason and just gave him a little 'punch in the arm' whale style.

However, the 'experts' at Sea World are calling it an attack. Supposedly they know better than us. (I dunno' about that)

Here is an attack caught on tape...we consider this an attack while the Orca probably considers it something less.



[edit on 30-11-2006 by kinglizard]

Ok I have witnessed this same behavior in aquatic mamals before firsthand. Actualy it was my impression that the whale was trying to push her to a shoreline. Wild aquatic mamals sometimes do this when a human is out in the water, they realise that humans are dry land creatures and they try and push them twards land. This was evedenced in the video as for the most part the whale was pushing her up out of the water instead of down into the water.

I think the whale could sense the young ladys panic and was trying the best it could to get her out of the water as soon as possible. The only problem were the other trainers were making it worse.

I am pretty sure that the bite wasnt intended to cause injury as it was intended to hold onto the young lady. Perhaps the whale felt that she might fall. Its my opinion that the whale if it was going to bite down on the leg of that young lady they probably would be looking for it in the whales stomach. Just an observation.

Of course a lot of this has to be blamed on the trainers themselves. These creatures don't paticularly trust humans, the trainers they deal with on a daily basis are exceptions. They have shown the whale that they can be trusted, likewise the trainer knows more or less what the whale is thinking. Being arround each other brings a sense of familiarity.

Putting an out of place person in that tank was irrisponsible behavior on the trainers part. That whale could have easily killed that young woman fortunatly for her that was not its intention.

Looks like a playful bite to me. Kinda like how a cat may bite you playfully when you play with it's tummy. Only this is a bigger cat. And it lives in the water. And makes un-miowlike sounds.

Agreed.
If an orca wanted you dead and you're in it's home (the water), you'd be dead. We're damned fragile critters, comparitivly speaking. I suspect that this was the Orca's way of saying "Look, I'm not in the mood... leave me alone!" or "Just in case you're feeling a little cocky, let me remind you who's the big fish in this pond.".

"Orca Plays with Trainer" just isn't as catchy a headliner for a story as "Killerwhale Attacks!".

This is about sensationalism in the media.

Ok, the whale is obviously not attacking.

If the whale was really going to bite her leg to hurt her, the lady would not have a leg.

I think that the whale was just playing...perhaps that is why humans should not play with whales IMHO

[edit on 30-11-2006 by omega1]

I saw the report on this on TV as well. They said the whale was performing while there had been music playing the background. From studies done on beached whales and dolphins, scientists have found that they are very sensitive to certain frequencies of noise, and in the beached whale's case, there were always military testing facilities near the coast.

Could it possibly have been the music that caused the whale to do this?

I totally agree, if the whale (actually dolphin) wanted him dead, he'd have been chewed up and drowned in no time.

The orca must have just kind of freaked out just a bit and forgot what it was supposed to do.

I am glad I am not the only one who views this situation like this ... I love aquatic mammals ... and feel as if there is a connection between us humans and them ... Anyways ... thanks for all the great input guys ... First thread I ever made with such a good result .. WOOHOOO ... anyways .. thanks again ..

This troubles me a lot, we are humans and we humans seems to disregard and disrespect any other life in this planet including our own fellow human beings.

A wild animal is just that wild, I still can not comprehend who told humans that they can control other animals for the purpose of personal gratification and amusement.

Incredible, and then they dare to tag it an attack I wonder who has been attacked for so many years while performing for humans enyoinment.

[edit on 1-12-2006 by marg6043]

I think that the killer whale was just showing that she was mildly annoyed.

If she had attacked, the trainer would be dead.

Just my opinion.

One of my friends was free diving near a colony of sea lions. He was playing with the females. They were just kind of swimming along side etc. A male, who was perhaps a little jealous, grabbed him by his fin and dragged him to the bottom (about 60 feet) in very little time.

My friend went from being on the surface frolicing with the girls to being on the bottom with a much larger male. The male just looked at him then let him go. I think that was a very clear case of interspecies communication.

The male just gave him a warning.

First off, let's clarify where the name "Killer Whale" came from. It was derived from early on as whalers witnessed "transient orcas" killing other whales and started to call them "killer of whales". Over the years the "of" part was left out. I guess "Killer Whale" sounds more menacing.

There are three types of orcas that although look similar are actually slightly different genetically.

Resident Orcas - only eat fish
Transient Orcas - eat other marine mammals(seals,whales, dolphins,etc), sharks and water fowl
Offshore Orcas - very little known because they live offshore, but are believed to be a mix of both.

All whales in captivity around the world were removed from the resident pods of puget sound and waters of Southern British Columbia around the late 60's and early 70's. The whale in the video is a male due to the large dorsal fin, difficult to tell since it's flopped over. These whales are very social animals that stay with their pod(which is their extended family litteraly) for their entire lives. Only leaving the pod to bread with members from other pods. J, K, and L pod were devastated by this cultivation of animals for our entertainment as breading age males and females were taken and dozens were drowned during the capture process. Orcas are similar to us in terms of reproductive cycle(males reach sexual maturity around 13-15 years of age and females around 12 years of age.

These animals also exhibit very high intelligence. They have a very extensive social structure and each pod has it's own language but also has a common dialect used to communicate with the other pods. I've observed these 3 pods for 2 summers now seeing them almost everyday leaving from Vancouver, BC. I have a tremendous respect for them and hope that the reunification process is pushed forward to see these captive creatures returned to the waters they grew up in and to be with their families.

The pods can travel an average of 100 miles a day. So you can imagine how it feels for that whale in the video to be cooped up in that small tank.

I don't think it was an attack at all, it was a case of rough housing. Old sailor folklore is that dolphins and killer whales(same species) following a ship was viewed as good luck.

Here's some links to web sites that give great info and some amazing stories

www.whale-museum.org...

www.killersofeden.com...

I seem to remember this happening a while back as well, or something similar.

It may not have been a Killer Whale ( although, I believe it was ), but the marine animal I'm referring to did basically the same thing. I think however, that it may have taken the person underwater for a longer period of time.

As I am typing this, its all coming back to me.

It was a show that was on television many years ago, similar to or may have been 'when animals attack'. It was filmed out in the ocean and showed a diver being pulled down into the deep by a whale ( I think ).

There was debate then, on what the intentions of the critter were, but many believed the same thing. If it wanted you dead, you would be dead.

There was a recent documentary about dolphins/orcas in captivity and why some would attack their trainers or humans. Attacking… in the sense that they would usually bite them but not enough to rip off a limb. From what the researchers said, this is usually caused by sexual frustration, and the fact that they are usually isolated and unable to release it.

So put yourself in that situation, a captive, intelligent animal, you have reached sexual maturity, and you remain in an isolated environment without the contact of your own specie.

It's only natural they would become agitated.

Also, dolphins are known to live within a pecking order, and usually the ones that are in lowest rank are the ones that are more typical of biting humans.