“Man belly-flops on orca” are words I never thought I’d write but here we are doing the dang thing.
Authorities from the New Zealand Department of Conservation have fined a man the equivalent of $600 dollars after he jumped from a boat and onto an orca and her calf off the coast of Devonport, Auckland.
His friends can be heard cheering him on while he’s in the water, telling him they’re recording and that they got it while he yells up to them that he touched it.
As if it even needs to be said, this is dangerous for all sorts of reasons. For starters, orcas weigh around 6,600 to 8,800 pounds so they don’t even have to try to hurt you to cause a lot of damage, but they’re also one of the top predators in the sea that are known to attack their prey in all sorts of ways, including smacking them high into the air and tearing at them with their sharp teeth.
Whether the guy knew it was a crime or not we don’t know but in no way shape or form is it legal to harass wildlife, let alone members of a protected species, which is why the authorities were so confused when first seeing the clip.
Hayden Loper, principal investigation officer for the NZDOC, told The Standard:
“The video left us genuinely stunned. As well as the initial attempt to dive onto the animal, the man stays in the water and then swims toward it again in a second attempt to touch it. This is stupid behavior and demonstrates a shocking disregard for the welfare of the orca. It is extremely irresponsible.
Orca are immensely powerful animals, and this really could have ended horribly – with either the startled whale being injured, or the man responsible being harmed by the aggravated animal…
It’s a very clear breach of the Marine Mammals Protection Act. Orca are classified as whales under conservation legislation and it is illegal to swim with whales, or disturb or harass any marine mammal.”
Truly moronic behavior by this dude. Can’t you just be pumped that they’re swimming next to your boat? How about you be happy that they’re not attacking the boat like so many did last summer? If these creatures are as smart as some say, they might start communicating and plan another coordinated attack on the boating community, all because idiots like this do idiotic things.
At least Americans aren’t the only dumb ones.
NEW: 50-year-old man fined $600 for bodyslamming a Killer Whale off the coast of New Zealand.
The orca was swimming with a calf when the man decided to jump off the boat.
"I touched it!" the man said.
According to the Department of Conservation, the man could have been… pic.twitter.com/8I4Pj9IRL7
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 21, 2024
