7 ms·

I'm curious; can you point to any references?

pvaldes 11y ago
Mhhh... I'm curious also. Well, killer whales are Dolphinidae so technically they are big dolphins. They killed some humans in the past, that is for sure. Some killer whale species are piscivorous and relatively safe, but other species eat mainly mammals, and are probably much more dangerous to humans. Captive pygmy killer whales are really nasty also. They howl loudly (like wolves) and actively charge against humans when in the same pool. They need open and deep water so is understandable. Bootlenose dolphins could hit and kill easily an human but probably only if seriously injured or restrained (or if a baby dolphin is in serious danger). Dolphins seem to be really smart and friendly even in the most dangerous situations for humans. Most are very curious with pregnant women for example. Could be really easy for the dolphin to kill the human foetus in this situation with a couple of hits of the beak but this never happens. To try to 'rape' humans is a much more frequent behaviour in male bootlenose dolphins (Not, I'm not joking). Common dolphins probably not, their beak is too much fragile to take the risk to harm an human. A dolphin with a break mandible is a dead dolphin. Ziphiidae probably could kill easily a human. They have the character and the strenght, although no case has been recorded I think... humans normally don't share the same space than beaked whales and its sharp and big frontal tooth. I did not advice to try to swim between two males figthing anyways. Pygmy sperm whales are not aggresive for humans even when injured or stranded, and I'm really happy with it. They will readily defecate over you instead and I can personally assure that is a very sticky red jelly thing but you really don't die for this.
- kendallpark 11y ago
  I've heard that there haven't been any cases of orca fatalities in the wild. All of the fatalities have occurred with captive orcas. There are dolphin attacks but I have not heard of a fatality. But one thing to consider is that some species of dolphin are more aggressive and sometimes attack and kill other kinds of dolphins and porpoises. For no reason that we can discern. Regardless, I don't think the fact that all dolphins aren't nice to humans means anything against their intelligence/sentience. All humans aren't nice to other humans.
  - peatmoss 11y ago
    That orcas avoid harming humans has long been a part of the legends of Pacific Northwest tribes. And, as this article suggests, Orcas do indeed seem to have a taboo against eating us: http://science.kqed.org/quest/2011/07/20/why-killer-whales-don%E2%80%99t-eat-people-where-science-and-legend-meet/ http://science.kqed.org/quest/2011/07/20/why-killer-whales-d...
  - pvaldes 11y ago
    Orcas can be local or transient, transient (pelagic) can be very dangerous just by accident. Wikipedia links to a very interesting description of an accidental attack to a surfer in 70's. The whale just bit once and go. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19960117&id=GIo1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=QiEGAAAAIBAJ&pg=3872,1646286&hl=es https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19960117&id=... And, just for the nerd department, lord of the ring's orcs and orca whales share probably the same meaning. Orcus was one of the names from underworld (the hell) in the roman empire. Clever Mr. Tolkien...
crimsonalucard 11y ago
just google "dolphin killing humans." here's one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ti%C3%A3o https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ti%C3%A3o
- kendallpark 11y ago
  Wow, what a sad story. :(

Mhhh... I'm curious also. Well, killer whales are Dolphinidae so technically they are big dolphins. They killed some humans in the past, that is for sure. Some killer whale species are piscivorous and relatively safe, but other species eat mainly mammals, and are probably much more dangerous to humans. Captive pygmy killer whales are really nasty also. They howl loudly (like wolves) and actively charge against humans when in the same pool. They need open and deep water so is understandable. Bootlenose dolphins could hit and kill easily an human but probably only if seriously injured or restrained (or if a baby dolphin is in serious danger). Dolphins seem to be really smart and friendly even in the most dangerous situations for humans. Most are very curious with pregnant women for example. Could be really easy for the dolphin to kill the human foetus in this situation with a couple of hits of the beak but this never happens. To try to 'rape' humans is a much more frequent behaviour in male bootlenose dolphins (Not, I'm not joking). Common dolphins probably not, their beak is too much fragile to take the risk to harm an human. A dolphin with a break mandible is a dead dolphin. Ziphiidae probably could kill easily a human. They have the character and the strenght, although no case has been recorded I think... humans normally don't share the same space than beaked whales and its sharp and big frontal tooth. I did not advice to try to swim between two males figthing anyways. Pygmy sperm whales are not aggresive for humans even when injured or stranded, and I'm really happy with it. They will readily defecate over you instead and I can personally assure that is a very sticky red jelly thing but you really don't die for this.

kendallpark 11y ago
I've heard that there haven't been any cases of orca fatalities in the wild. All of the fatalities have occurred with captive orcas. There are dolphin attacks but I have not heard of a fatality. But one thing to consider is that some species of dolphin are more aggressive and sometimes attack and kill other kinds of dolphins and porpoises. For no reason that we can discern. Regardless, I don't think the fact that all dolphins aren't nice to humans means anything against their intelligence/sentience. All humans aren't nice to other humans.
- peatmoss 11y ago
  That orcas avoid harming humans has long been a part of the legends of Pacific Northwest tribes. And, as this article suggests, Orcas do indeed seem to have a taboo against eating us: http://science.kqed.org/quest/2011/07/20/why-killer-whales-don%E2%80%99t-eat-people-where-science-and-legend-meet/ http://science.kqed.org/quest/2011/07/20/why-killer-whales-d...
- pvaldes 11y ago
  Orcas can be local or transient, transient (pelagic) can be very dangerous just by accident. Wikipedia links to a very interesting description of an accidental attack to a surfer in 70's. The whale just bit once and go. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19960117&id=GIo1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=QiEGAAAAIBAJ&pg=3872,1646286&hl=es https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19960117&id=... And, just for the nerd department, lord of the ring's orcs and orca whales share probably the same meaning. Orcus was one of the names from underworld (the hell) in the roman empire. Clever Mr. Tolkien...

crimsonalucard 11y ago

just google "dolphin killing humans." here's one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ti%C3%A3o https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ti%C3%A3o

kendallpark 11y ago
Wow, what a sad story. :(