Your day at a marine park
went terribly wrong.
You got so excited
that you didn’t watch your step
and fell into a tank filled
with 9 m (29 ft) killer whales.
Now, one's dragging you
to the bottom of the tank,
and you’re about to discover why
even great white sharks
are afraid of them.
Orcas,
also known as killer whales,
are enormous animals.
The largest orca on record was
9.8 m (32 ft) long
and weighed 10 tonnes (22,050 lb).
Once these tremendous hunters
see their prey,
it’s game on.
Their sharp teeth can pierce
through seals,
giant squids
and great white sharks.
Captive killer whales can be
even more dangerous.
The stress of being held
in such small pools
can trigger extremely hostile behavior
towards humans.
Tilikum, a male whale,
was caught in the wild
at two years old
and eventually sold to SeaWorld.
He had a psychosis
that made him aggressive
and killed three people during his life
at SeaWorld.
Orcas are particularly
intelligent creatures.
In captivity,
they observe human behaviors
and responses.
They learn which actions result
in negative human responses
and avoid repeating them
in future interactions.
These mammals often test
how hard they can bite you.
They'll bite harder than usual
and see how you react.
It is important to respond clearly
and firmly.
Establish your boundaries with the whale.
Let it know if a behavior isn’t OK,
and you just might be spared.
In 2010,
Dawn Brancheau
was a highly experienced trainer
of killer whales.
But she was one of Tilikum’s victims.
While she was giving a talk
to a group of visitors,
Tilikum leaped out of the water,
grabbed her with his jaws
and dragged the trainer underwater.
Brancheau had particularly long hair,
as she had been growing it to help
make wigs for cancer patients.
Unfortunately, her long hair became a toy
for the killer whale.
He kept pulling on it and dragged her
to the bottom of the pool
until she drowned.
In the wild, orcas have attacked boats.
In September 2021,
rogue orcas appeared to be targeting
fishing boats off the coasts of Spain
and Portugal.
More than 40 incidents
were reported to the authorities.
David Smith, a skipper on one boat,
thought that dolphins
were following them.
But when he felt the animals ram
the underside of the yacht,
he realized they were dealing
with something bigger.
It was a group of about seven killer whales
attacking the boat.
The yacht was about 13.7 m (45 ft) long.
Smith saw one whale disappear
under the vessel.
Then the crew heard a thumping noise
from the hull.
Smith feared that the boat could suffer
a damaged rudder.
Eventually, they turned off the motor
to seem less interesting to the orcas.
That made the marine hunters give up.
Killer whales can be
just as deadly after they die.
If you’re enjoying a walk on a beach
and see a dead whale washed up
on the shore,
you might want to investigate it.
But that might be the worst,
and the last, idea you'd ever have.
When bacteria break down,
it can make gases that build up
inside the whale’s body.
And if something punctures that body,
the gases can cause it to explode.
When taking a boat trip on the sea,
it might be best to leave your pet at home.
If you do bring it, keep it quiet.
A dog’s barking could trigger an orca’s
instinct to hunt,
as they can confuse the sound
with calls from one of their favorite food,
seals.
I'm impressed.
You just survived a killer whale.
Hopefully, you’ll be more careful
of where you go swimming,
or you could end up inside a whale.
Would you know how to get out alive?
Find out here.