All these videos of whales approaching kayakers, why aren’t they freaking out? Don’t whales attack people?

[On_cloud_wine]

Updates

10 mo

What if the whale thinks the kayak or human on a floaty thing is a seal or octopus or turtle and takes a bite? Do they have an extremely keen sense of awareness? Can they smell fear?

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

The whales you're thinking of are orcas, the big killer whale. They've recently taken to attacking boats (like, big ones not kayaks) mainly because seals have started a pattern of taking refuge there. Orcas are also likely seeing anything on the boat as a potential meal.

The whales most often seen in those kayaking videos are usually humpback whales. Yes, they can be dangerous if you happen to catch them when feeding but humpback whales are more well-known for protecting humans rather than attacking them and most don't recognize humans as food -- mainly because humpbacks feed on krill or small fish. Another interesting fact about humpbacks is they notoriously despise killer whales because their babies will often become potential targets for their hunting. This hatred has become so innate in their evolutionary development that they now not only go out of their way to protect humans, but will also do so for seals and other potential prey for the orcas until it's able to safely escape, and then continue to harass the orcas in their pod for hours on end to make sure they don't eat anything else while they're around. They fully intend to starve orcas.

So yeah, it can be a little scary to come across one of the world's largest mammals when you're kayaking, and in places like Alaska where it's really common to see them, most places advise to keep a distance of 100 meters away from them. Usually, if you happen upon one, they'll leave humans alone to focus on what they're doing. As far as humpbacks are concerned, humans in the ocean are the same as any other fish, they don't always realize how delicate we are or that we can't survive long in deep water and obviously if you happen to get caught by a fin it can be deadly, which is why it's best to keep your distance. You panicking over it doesn't do anything for the whales, they don't usually understand that you're afraid or freaking out, and if you panic you can make bad mistakes which is why panicking is dangerous. Whales in general are pretty cool to look at though.

[NamerOfStars]

Unless they think they, or their calves, are being attacked, no- why would they? They're curious, social creatures, and probably think the kayak is another whale. Humans haven't preyed on whales for a long time (outside of Japan, which apparently thinks that international fishing treaties are a polite suggestion), and our boats are too big to eat even for the few whales that COULD prey on us.

In The Brendan Voyage (in which he recreated the journey of Saint Brendan), Tim Severin (one of the last people alive who can put "explorer" on his resume, and a good candidate for the main character of reality, now that Christopher Lee is dead) noted that while sailing their skin boat across the Atlantic, they had multiple pods of whales approach any try to communicate with them; Brendan himself actually recorded the same thing in his account.

[AviatorTom]

Whales are mammals, like people. We're actually distant cousins. Unless a human gives a whale a reason to attack (like threatening them), there is no reason for a whale to attack. Some of the videos you see are people being stupid and getting too close to whales, and the whale (which is huge) capsizes their boat when it surfaces to breathe.

[ButthurtGAGpeople1]

No, they only attack if they feel like their young are being attacked. They're likely showing that they just want to play. Whales are pretty good with humans. It's sharks you have to worry about

[On_cloud_wine]

Omgosh yes and these sharks swim in the same water as these whales. Why do people do this? I’m these waters

[ButthurtGAGpeople1]

They do it to see the whales, and even sharks (sightseeing)

[On_cloud_wine]

I just watched a video of a man getting eaten alive by a shark as he was calling for his father to save him.. they killed the shark and brought it to shore and found the remains of the boy inside its intestines.. they didn’t even live there.. they were on vacay 😭

[On_cloud_wine]

This happened like a month ago!

[On_cloud_wine]

I don't know why I’ve been watching so many shark videos lately. Maybe I’m trying to understand them and not hate them. I know the ocean is their world… another story of a girl who had her arm removed from a shark and this museum decided to rescue the shark so they wouldn’t put it down and she walks you through the aquarium and points to the shark and they gave it a name and I suppose she made peace with the whole situation but lordy

[SnowedIn]

Very very very very rarely (read almost never) do whales attack humans or boats. Yes, it happens. But not enough to worry about.

[spartan55]

There has actually never been one documented attack of a human by an orca (killer whale) in the wild. Captivity is a different story.

[Astarlessnightsky]

No, usually whales don't attack humans

[On_cloud_wine]

If they flip the boat or canoe or kayak over and the people are thrown overboard and splashing all over the place trying to get back to safety and the whale is right there, wouldn’t they try to bite?

[Astarlessnightsky]

No.

Most whale Species are only eating Krill.

[Astarlessnightsky]

Maybe an Orca would do that if its starved and dying. But even Orcas don't eat humans.

You are more likely to freeze to death in the water, than being attacked by a whale.

[On_cloud_wine]

That makes me happy.

[gorydetails]

There has never been a person attacked by an Orca in the wild. Whales don't generally attack people.