Now its the WHALES! What round for whales? Get a bigger boat!

[MickAK]

That’s actually something I’ve always wondered about because other large marine predators that feed on seals and seal lions do kill folks. I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on that since you’re actually around them in the wild.

I think they have an oral history that goes back hundreds of years the same as Native tribes had before Europeans arrived. I think killing humans is 'taboo' in their culture and they basically don't do it for the same reason certain tribes wouldn't climb certain mountains or drink the water of certain streams. They kill for sport and play with/torture their prey before killing it. They have plenty of opportunity to kill humans, but they don't (outside of Sea World).

I was working as a dive tender in the sea cucumber fishery when one of the divers came up faster than he should have looking terrified. He told me 14 orcas had swam past him and the other diver closely. The other diver finished his dive then came up. The diver that had panic ascended asked the other diver if he had seen the orcas and he replied 'They have never attacked a human'. The panicked diver said he didn't intend on being the first one .

[AMC]

That actually makes a lot of sense.

[Caballoflaco]

I think they have an oral history that goes back hundreds of years the same as Native tribes had before Europeans arrived. I think killing humans is 'taboo' in their culture and they basically don't do it for the same reason certain tribes wouldn't climb certain mountains or drink the water of certain streams. They kill for sport and play with/torture their prey before killing it. They have plenty of opportunity to kill humans, but they don't (outside of Sea World).

I was working as a dive tender in the sea cucumber fishery when one of the divers came up faster than he should have looking terrified. He told me 14 orcas had swam past him and the other diver closely. The other diver finished his dive then came up. The diver that had panic ascended asked the other diver if he had seen the orcas and he replied 'They have never attacked a human'. The panicked diver said he didn't intend on being the first one .

On a possibly related note I found a couple of articles about Inuits in eastern Canada killing more Orcas as the sea ice has retreated and they’ve displaced and been preying on other whale species that were traditionally hunted. We know correlation isn’t causation, but whales attacking whaling ships wasn’t unheard of back when commercial whaling was a thing. It’s possible that if these are migratory whales they see ships as threats now.

And I really wouldn’t want to come upon an angry pod in just a sea kayak.

[DDTSGM]

And I really wouldn’t want to come upon an angry pod in just a sea kayak.

Just make sure you've driven a thousand miles and paid to look for them in the sea kayak and they will stay well away from you.

[RevolverRob]

This is why this Land Luber doesn't fuck around in the sea. We talk about how humans are usually the top of the food chain in our environments. Well the ocean isn't one and we damn sure ain't the top of the food chain in a world where multi-ton carnivores capable of speeds that humans can only achieve with internal combustion engines hang out.

So, here's my reply to the caliber for whales - stay out of the ocean and then you only need to worry about what round for pissed of Cape Buffalo.

[Seven_Sicks_Two]

What round for whales?

.460 Weatherby Magnum. Seriously.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.460_Weatherby_Magnum

"The .460 Weatherby is one of the very few rifle cartridges approved by the International Whaling Commission for the harvesting of whales. The cartridge was deemed to have the penetration necessary to penetrate to the brain stem to provide a quick kill on whales. The Makah people of the Pacific Northwest have used this rifle cartridge for decades hunting whales."

[Bio]

I think they have an oral history that goes back hundreds of years the same as Native tribes had before Europeans arrived. I think killing humans is 'taboo' in their culture and they basically don't do it for the same reason certain tribes wouldn't climb certain mountains or drink the water of certain streams. They kill for sport and play with/torture their prey before killing it. They have plenty of opportunity to kill humans, but they don't (outside of Sea World).

I was working as a dive tender in the sea cucumber fishery when one of the divers came up faster than he should have looking terrified. He told me 14 orcas had swam past him and the other diver closely. The other diver finished his dive then came up. The diver that had panic ascended asked the other diver if he had seen the orcas and he replied 'They have never attacked a human'. The panicked diver said he didn't intend on being the first one .

I have speculated about this a lot with Dolphins and Orcas (despite having zero expertise, my opinion isn't worth anything). As you say, for all the good press they get in our culture, they're basically unrepentant assholes. Dolphins have a documented murder and rape habit. Both play with their food, basically torturing for fun.

They're both really smart animals, though, with language and probably some group culture thansk to that language. I gotta wonder if they know enough to know that humans are also unrepentant assholes most of the time, so they play it cool. I do remember reading accounts of whalers that formed a cooperative relationship with an orca for decades. It would show them where the whales were and help the whalers kill the beast, then it would get an easy meal out of it.

[HCM]

[paherne]

Orcas, like trains, are one of the methods of death that I am unlikely to perish from. If only there was some way to avoid them...

[BehindBlueI's]

Orcas, like trains, are one of the methods of death that I am unlikely to perish from. If only there was some way to avoid them...

Orca free zone signage.