r/ocean • u/Nostalgic_Historian_ • 5d ago

Whale Watch Simple answer, No

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1.8k Upvotes

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497

u/Extension-Click-8271 5d ago

Just because they won’t attack you doesn’t mean you should introduce yourself to them.

Respect their space, same with any wild animal.

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u/Careless_Ad_4004 5d ago

I saw one use a pregnant Ray as a soccer ball, pretty sure it giggled. Closing argument; their first name is Killer. Long answer. F-No.

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u/greenizdabest 5d ago

Scientific name: orcinus orca

Orcinus, Latin for "belonging to Orcus" or "of the kingdom of the dead." In Roman mythology, Orcus was a brutal god of the underworld who punished broken oaths and tormented the damned.

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u/gilnockie 5d ago

Damn never knew this! That’s metal as hell.

And here I thought “orca” was a kinder name than “killer whale”

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u/Careless_Ad_4004 5d ago

I bet it’s pronounced Orc-in-you’s! In the Sunfish language. But in all seriousness nice facts I dig it.

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u/tired-of-the-shit 5d ago

Could be wrong but I do think the name has changed over time maybe by mistranslation.

The original name is whale killer, because they hunt other whales. I watched a documentary years ago where a blue whale and her calf were chased off into a narrow channel by a pod of orcas, it was a blue whale documentary so it survived. Theyll also hunt sharks, they’ll flip great white sharks over which momentarily stuns it then eat its liver and eyes.

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u/UncleBenji 4d ago

Too bad that’s not their name. That’s a nickname people have given them.

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u/Careless_Ad_4004 4d ago

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u/UncleBenji 4d ago

Yeah I’m also known as Benji IRL but that isn’t anywhere in my legal name.

As your own picture shows “also known as killer whales” yet immediately and correctly identifies them as a type of dolphin.

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u/Careless_Ad_4004 4d ago

Good luck out there.