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Attacks on humans by Orcas happens. Its that they do not eat humans, once they realize its us, they let go and swim away. They need to taste us first, especiall

by funkyy 11y ago

Attacks on humans by Orcas happens. Its that they do not eat humans, once they realize its us, they let go and swim away. They need to taste us first, especially if none of the members of group haven't tasted or interacted with humans before.

DamnYuppie 11y ago
Same with most sharks. They have to bite you to know what you are, most shark attacks are quick strikes and then they let the victim go.
- thesagan 11y ago
  Really? Wow, a lot to learn in this thread! Seems like we might not be very palatable for many creatures (or are just too bizarre for them to eat).
  - pavel_lishin 11y ago
    We just don't taste like the food they usually eat. Someone who's never had kimchi, or any spicy food, might react similarly on the first bite.
- pbhjpbhj 11y ago
  Is that different to how such sharks usually hunt larger prey? I could imagine it being a good technique, bite retreat and wait for the prey to weaken/die; rather than having a thrashing, struggling creature next to your head.
  - DamnYuppie 11y ago
    They generally don't let go if it is prey.
crispyambulance 11y ago
Good to know! Now which appendage should I offer for the tasting menu....
- funkyy 11y ago
  The smallest finger - hopefully its the one in your foot ;) But to be serious, I wonder if cutting yourself would be enough for them to taste you and go away or if it would have opposite effect.
  - 0xdeadbeefbabe 11y ago
    There is only one way to find out.
  - DanBC 11y ago
    If you're ever in a situation where you get a choice of which finger to lose don't chose your little finger. You want to keep your index (or first) finger, and your little (or forth) finger, and you probably want to keep your ring (or third) finger. A bunch of stuff becomes much harder if you don't have a little finger.
    - influx 11y ago
      In other words, choose the middle finger?
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]
    - pbhjpbhj 11y ago
      Doing pottery I primarily use my middle fingers and thumbs ... could you share your reasoning?
      - eveningcoffee 11y ago
        Your grip becomes much weaker.
azakai 11y ago
It's not just that they don't eat us, it's also that they haven't killed us for other reasons. For example, a human happening to stray close to a young orca might be confused as a threat to it, which could trigger an attack by a parent. Yet, despite there being lots of orcas in the ocean, no violent altercation between a wild orca and a human has led to a human death. That this hasn't happened even once is remarkable, especially given the massive size and strength of orca. Other large mammals often kill humans, and not just as food, for example, hippos. I don't think we know exactly why orcas have never killed humans, but I would guess their intelligence has something to do with it.
- Tiktaalik 11y ago
  One explanation could be that Orcas and Humans simply don't come in contact that often. Orcas are common where I live in British Columbia, but you really don't have that many swimmers around in contrast to tropical areas. Additionally, the local resident orcas eat salmon and I don't think they'd consider humans to be a potential food source. Transient orcas eat seals, and I could imagine them confusing a human with a seal just as great white sharks do. Maybe the migration patterns of transient orcas don't line up with when and where people swim.
  - azakai 11y ago
    That's certainly a factor. However, orca are not limited to cold climates, even if they are found more there. Their natural range includes all oceans, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whale#Range_and_habitat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whale#Range_and_habitat and they can encounter humans not just when the humans are swimming - which is rare in cold climates - but also when they are fishing. Furthermore, there are also practically no cases of other dolphins than orca killing humans, and human-dolphin encounters are not that rare. For example, even in the times of ancient Greece, dolphins were known and considered very friendly, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin#In_history_and_religion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin#In_history_and_religio... Other dolphins are of course significantly smaller than orca, but still very powerful when in the water. I don't think there is an obvious answer for why wild orca have never been seen killing a human, and practically no other dolphin either. It's an interesting mystery.

by funkyy 11y ago

DamnYuppie 11y ago

Same with most sharks. They have to bite you to know what you are, most shark attacks are quick strikes and then they let the victim go.

thesagan 11y ago
Really? Wow, a lot to learn in this thread! Seems like we might not be very palatable for many creatures (or are just too bizarre for them to eat).
- pavel_lishin 11y ago
  We just don't taste like the food they usually eat. Someone who's never had kimchi, or any spicy food, might react similarly on the first bite.
pbhjpbhj 11y ago
Is that different to how such sharks usually hunt larger prey? I could imagine it being a good technique, bite retreat and wait for the prey to weaken/die; rather than having a thrashing, struggling creature next to your head.
- DamnYuppie 11y ago
  They generally don't let go if it is prey.

crispyambulance 11y ago

Good to know! Now which appendage should I offer for the tasting menu....

funkyy 11y ago
The smallest finger - hopefully its the one in your foot ;) But to be serious, I wonder if cutting yourself would be enough for them to taste you and go away or if it would have opposite effect.
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 11y ago
  There is only one way to find out.
- DanBC 11y ago
  If you're ever in a situation where you get a choice of which finger to lose don't chose your little finger. You want to keep your index (or first) finger, and your little (or forth) finger, and you probably want to keep your ring (or third) finger. A bunch of stuff becomes much harder if you don't have a little finger.
  - influx 11y ago
    In other words, choose the middle finger?
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
  - pbhjpbhj 11y ago
    Doing pottery I primarily use my middle fingers and thumbs ... could you share your reasoning?
    - eveningcoffee 11y ago
      Your grip becomes much weaker.

azakai 11y ago

It's not just that they don't eat us, it's also that they haven't killed us for other reasons. For example, a human happening to stray close to a young orca might be confused as a threat to it, which could trigger an attack by a parent. Yet, despite there being lots of orcas in the ocean, no violent altercation between a wild orca and a human has led to a human death. That this hasn't happened even once is remarkable, especially given the massive size and strength of orca. Other large mammals often kill humans, and not just as food, for example, hippos. I don't think we know exactly why orcas have never killed humans, but I would guess their intelligence has something to do with it.

Tiktaalik 11y ago
One explanation could be that Orcas and Humans simply don't come in contact that often. Orcas are common where I live in British Columbia, but you really don't have that many swimmers around in contrast to tropical areas. Additionally, the local resident orcas eat salmon and I don't think they'd consider humans to be a potential food source. Transient orcas eat seals, and I could imagine them confusing a human with a seal just as great white sharks do. Maybe the migration patterns of transient orcas don't line up with when and where people swim.
- azakai 11y ago
  That's certainly a factor. However, orca are not limited to cold climates, even if they are found more there. Their natural range includes all oceans, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whale#Range_and_habitat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whale#Range_and_habitat and they can encounter humans not just when the humans are swimming - which is rare in cold climates - but also when they are fishing. Furthermore, there are also practically no cases of other dolphins than orca killing humans, and human-dolphin encounters are not that rare. For example, even in the times of ancient Greece, dolphins were known and considered very friendly, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin#In_history_and_religion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin#In_history_and_religio... Other dolphins are of course significantly smaller than orca, but still very powerful when in the water. I don't think there is an obvious answer for why wild orca have never been seen killing a human, and practically no other dolphin either. It's an interesting mystery.