How would killer whales react if person fell into the ocean in the area where the whales were? Would this differ in anyway with captive killer whales? I know of an incident in Victoria's, BC now defunct Sealand where a trainer was drowned in the pen of a killer whale. How did this happen? I know this must be out of the ordinary for you and I'm just asking for ideas really on possible action in my book Dear Lesley: Let's turn it around: How would people react if a killer whale came into the area where the people were. Would this differ in anyway with people in captivity? Time was people were afraid of killer whales and would shoot them when they came near. There was even a Dino DeLaurentis film (Orca, the Killer Whale) about a vengefull killer whale. In time, opinions changed and there was even a Dick Donner film (Free Willy) about a friendly killer whale. The essential question is: what are the circumstances. Not all killer whales are the same, and not all situations are the same. The prevailing opinion is that "resident" killer whales are essentially benign creatures, and if in contact with humans, will show some curiosity, then move on. On the otherhand, there are reports of killer whales that deliberately try to force people on ice floes into the water (presumably to eat, as this is a common behavior of killer whales towards seals on ice floes). I also know of killer whales that have bitten boats to the extent that the boat occupants were genuinely scared. I know of at least one event in which a killer whale came out of the water onto a beach after a scientist walking along the beach. (This was in an area where killer whales regularly come out of the water after sea lions.) Contrary to popular opinion, I believe that, under the right circumstances, a killer whale will kill a human for food or entertainment. The right circumstances would include a group of foraging killer whales without a readily available prey item (porpoise, salmon, etc), and a person in the water without metal or plastic. Killer whales can ascertain the presence of indigestable parts such as scuba tanks, weights, and plastic floatation aids. I also suspect that if a person were aggressive towards a killer whale, the whale would try to protect itself. This happened when Lee Tepley's girl friend was harassing a pilot whale off Hawaii and the whale grabbed her, once by the midsection and once by the thigh, and took her down. The incident you mentioned about the trainer being killed is not an isolated one. It has happened several times. One interpretation is that the animal was playing the the trainer and go carried away. Another was that the orca was angry at the trainer and deliberately drowned the person. (This is common for orcas as they drown seals, porpoises, and even gray whale calves deliberately.) There was also an incident in Southern California in which a trainer died. Sea World had obtained a male orca that had belonged to Marineland of the Pacific. At Marineland, the whale was the king of the tank. Once at Sea World, other animals were dominant, and the new kid on the block was upset. He apparently took out his anxiety on the trainer. I hope this helps. If you have any other questions, you are welcome to ask. Cheers, Pieter Folkens \\| \| Y _ ,~------------------------/ \___^___^._ | ~ ~.~ ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.'~`^--^_,''/ | @ _ ~,~.~'~.~,~'~.~,~.~ ~ ~ ~ ~.~ { \_________ \_l ~,~,~,~,~,~'.~.____'-----'__` \ ~ ~ `----------------------\__'--' ` `\ ~ ~