In the wild, is a human extra prone to survive an encounter with an orca or an awesome white shark?
— Kameryn F., Yardley, Pa.
By the numbers, white sharks are much more harmful to people than orcas are. Despite the title “killer whale,” there’s just one well-documented occasion of a wild orca attacking somebody — Hans Kretschmer, who was bitten on the leg whereas browsing in California in 1972. Attacks by white sharks, though nonetheless uncommon, occur fairly a bit extra usually; there are a number of hundred on record.
So why are killer whale assaults so uncommon? Emma Luck, a marine-mammal researcher on the University of Alaska, instructed me {that a} massive a part of it’s simply that orcas don’t encounter people as usually. “Killer whales are found in all oceans, but they tend to be found in higher densities around cold, high-latitude regions,” she wrote in a message. “These are areas where the water is not particularly inviting for the average beachgoer!”
She stated the 1972 orca assault was in all probability a case of mistaken id, as is the case with many shark assaults. “In an open water context, where all parties can view each other clearly, I would wager that both the shark and the killer whale are going to leave you alone,” she stated.
In reality, you don’t need to spend lengthy shopping police blotters to verify that not solely are killer whale assaults rarer than shark assaults, they’re additionally rarer than documented circumstances of swimmers being attacked and bitten by different people. Granted, that’s as a result of there are much more people than orcas round, however that doesn’t change the conclusion: In the ocean, you’re extra prone to be attacked and bitten by an individual than by a killer whale.
Because sharks and orcas each spend most of their time hidden underwater, we frequently consider them when it comes to their temporary interactions with us — will they assault us or not? If the one two choices are “Don’t attack the human” and “Attack the human,” it’s exhausting to not concentrate on the second. After all, it’s the second most probably choice!
But sharks and orcas aren’t simply hanging out down there deciding whether or not to assault us. Like the people you move on the road, they’re principally busy doing their very own factor.
And within the case of orcas, one of many issues they’re busy doing is worrying about humpback whales.
For causes which might be unclear to scientists, humpback whales nearly appear to have a vendetta in opposition to killer whales, as a 2016 paper in the journal Marine Mammal Science famous. All over the world, orcas attempting to chase down meals are routinely interrupted by out-of-the-blue humpback whale assaults. Humpbacks will band collectively and journey nice distances to intervene in killer whale hunts, no matter what the prey species is.
The paper even paperwork circumstances of humpback whales seemingly lifting seals up out of the water and holding them out of attain of the orcas. The humpbacks stayed and guarded the prey for hours, till the orcas had been pressured to go away hungry.
Why do humpbacks do that? Is this altruism? Game principle? Cross-mammal solidarity? A side-effect of their intuition to guard calves? Or do they only actually hate orcas, for causes identified solely to them?
“It’s hard to understand why it happens,” Ms. Luck stated. “Especially because it’s not limited to just one population of humpbacks. It happens all over the world.”
So in the event you do encounter a killer whale within the ocean, don’t fear, it’s unlikely to assault you. And in the event you’re nonetheless anxious … maybe think about befriending a humpback.
