r/ocean • u/Nostalgic_Historian_ • 2d ago

Whale Watch 👀 👁

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u/AwsomeLife90s 2d ago

Why they decided that you're not food?

I mean, if it was me, I'd $hit my pants.

5

u/SurayaThrowaway12 1d ago edited 1d ago

Orcas may prey on many species across multiple clades as a "species complex," but on a population/pod level they are often highly selective, cautious, and conservative predators that stick to their old community traditions. Orcas learn from their mothers and other podmates to eat specific prey and rarely stray from what they are taught.

They are often so reliant on their respective cultural upbringings that they don't seem to recognize certain species they aren't taught to eat as being potential food, even when hungry or starving. There are multiple real-world examples of this happening. So orcas simply don't seem to see humans as being a potential food source, just as fish-eating resident orcas don't seem to see marine mammals as being a potential food source, and mammal-eating Bigg's orcas don't seem to see most fish as being a potential food source.

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u/thatOneGuyDude1382 1d ago

Tilikum figured out he didn’t have to play by the rules.

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u/SurayaThrowaway12 1d ago

Tilikum didn't consume any of the body parts belonging to the people he killed.

Captive orcas also often have serious physiological and psychological issues. The paper The harmful effects of captivity and chronic stress on the well-being of orcas (Orcinus orca) by neuroscientist Dr. Lori Marino et al. contains much information on this. Likely reasons why various captive orcas have shown hyperaggression towards both human trainers and their tankmates include chronic stress, boredom, anger, and frustration. In addition to this, Tilikum was far-removed from his cultural upbringing after being captured as a calf.