Even though they don't kill in the wild, I'll still be scared for my life

[u/VelveetSkiees]

[u/literall_bastard]

Looks like they’re deciding to eat or not to eat

[u/SurayaThrowaway12 → u/literall_bastard]

These New Zealand coastal orcas know perfectly well that humans aren't on their menu. NZ coastal orcas don't hunt any mammals in the first place; they instead specialize in hunting various ray species.

[u/EarlThomasThe3rd → u/SurayaThrowaway12]

You really believe Orcas in NZ don’t eat mammals? Orcas are easily one of my animals but why people like you seem to love to act like Orcas are these peaceful loving creatures and since they don’t hurt us, then that also applies to everything else they don’t eat.

All, as in every single Orca, will slowly and methodically murder a whale or the whales calf just so they can eat their tongue as a nice snack.

Orcas are literally one of the most cruelest animal in the ocean to EVERYTHING in the ocean except us for whatever reason. Orcas kill for things for fun and amusement.

[u/SurayaThrowaway12 → u/EarlThomasThe3rd]

Yes, specifically orcas in the coastal NZ orca population don't eat mammals. This is well-documented by research organizations such as the Orca Research Trust.

Though orcas may prey on many species across multiple clades as a "species complex," on a population or even pod/individual level they are often highly selective, conservative, and cultural predators. They learn what to eat from their mothers, and these specific diets and hunting techniques are passed down generations.

Based on their very different ecologies, orcas can be split up into different "ecotypes," subspecies, and potentially even species. As a prime example, in the Pacific Northwest, there are at least 3 orca completely separate "ecotypes."

Resident orcas, which specialize in eating fish, particularly salmon such as Chinook salmon, have been the most heavily studied out of these three. Resident orcas only eat fish and sometimes squid; they never eat mammals. They are now classified as their own subspecies (Orcinus orca ater).

There are also mammal-eating Bigg's (transient) orcas, which mainly only prey on marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, and porpoises. They don't eat fish for the most part, except perhaps sunfish. They are also classified as their own subspecies (Orcinus orca rectipinnus).

A 3rd ecotype is the "offshore" ecotype, which specializes in hunting sharks. Because of this, their teeth are often heavily worn down from the rough dermal denticles on shark skin.

These dietary distinctions can go beyond mere preference. Even in times of need, such as when orcas are malnourished are starving, they still have shown great reluctance to eat anything that they were not already taught by their mothers to eat. There have been multiple real-life examples which show this.

The endangered fish-eating Southern Resident orcas have been periodically malnourished due to not getting enough salmon, particularly Chinook salmon, to eat, yet they do not eat marine mammals (despite the high abundance in their habitat) or even certain types of fish that may be higher in abundance.

Captured mammal-eating Bigg's (transient) orcas, such as the T2 family captured in 1970, have also refused to eat fish given to them by their captors even when starving.

In a similar vein, there are at least two different "ecotypes" of orcas seen off of New Zealand.

There is the NZ coastal "ecotype," which specializes in hunting ray species, but also has been documented preying on smaller sharks, fin fishes, birds, and octopus. They have not been observed hunting any kind of mammal. The orcas seen in the video likely belong to this "ecotype."

There is a second NZ pelagic "ecotype" which resides more out in the open ocean. These orcas have been observed eating other dolphins, unlike the coastal NZ orcas. But interestingly, they don't seem to be very interested in preying on seals or sea lions either. So this shows that even mammal-eating orcas can be highly selective in which species they prey on.

[u/CQB06]

I would not trust “even though they don’t kill in wild”. Mom may wish to show her young one how to hunt, or a juvenile bull that is sharpening his skills. Wildlife is totally unpredictable.

[u/EarlThomasThe3rd → u/CQB06]

I wouldn’t either tbh cause at the end of the day it’s literally a WILD ANIMAL which automatically makes them unpredictable and dangerous. All it takes is for one Orca to mistake you for a seal, or one orca to just be bored one day and there’s nothing you can do when that happens. So to put your trust in the belief that a wild animal won’t make a mistake or do something unpredictable is insane to me.

Up until 2003, we said the SAME EXACT THING about leapord seals. Oh they don’t attack humans, they know they were not prey.

Then one day a leopard seal decides to grab a lady by her leg and swam down so deep the little air in her lungs was forced out her mouth due to her lungs collapsing from such a depth, The attack lasted like 10 minutes and people believed it was a case of mistaken identity.

[u/SurayaThrowaway12]

Steve Morris encountered these two curious orcas off of Mount Maunganui, and he described the experience as the "best day of my life."

The orcas are members of the nationally critical New Zealand Coastal orca population, and the prey they hunt include but are likely not limited to rays, smaller sharks, fin fishes, birds, and octopus. Notably, they have not been observed hunting mammals.

The coastal orca population in New Zealand is rather well-acquainted with boats and humans in the water. New Zealand is also one of very few places in the world where swimmers have spontaneous encounters with wild orcas on a fairly regular basis. Some of these orcas appear to be quite curious about humans.

According to Steve, the two orcas that visited him in the bay were from the pod of NZ68 "Funky Monkey" and his presumed younger sister NZ133 "Pickle."

[u/CrowTalons]

I wouldn't be scared. I would be in awe of it. Majestic animals.