He managed to capture the amazing encounter on his GoPro.
Because of many incidents in captivity at marine entertainment facilities like SeaWorld in which orcas have killed their trainers, and because of the nickname “killer whale,” the marine mammals (a species of oceanic dolphin, not a whale at all) have a reputation for violence.
However, in the wild, orcas — although they are capable of taking down much larger and stronger prey than humans — have never been known to kill a human; the extremely rare attacks that have taken place could have potentially been because an orca mistook a human for a seal.
Opinion is divided over whether captive orca attacks on humans are deliberate, but there is evidence to suggest that captivity has a detrimental effect on the animals’ mental health, as well as their physical wellbeing.
In fact, wild orcas have even cooperated with humans, like the ones at Twofold Bay on the southeast coast of Australia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who would aid human whalers by alerting them to the presence of whales and hauling in the catch, in exchange for delicacies.
We know that orcas are remarkably intelligent; they have distinctive language dialects that differ between pods and are even thought to have developed culture, with complex behaviors that vary according to region and pod.
And doesn’t their beauty just fill you with joy, swimming free in the sparkling ocean?
Источник: weloveanimals.me
