Has a killer whale ever killed a person in the wild?

Only one person has ever been injured by a wild orca, but whales in captivity are another story entirely. Four people have been killed, and about a dozen more seriously injured, by orcas at marine-themed parks like SeaWorld. read more

Only one person has ever been injured by a wild orca, but whales in captivity are another story entirely. Four people have been killed, and about a dozen more seriously injured, by orcas at marine-themed parks like SeaWorld. Critics say it's the stress of captivity that leads to orca aggression, an assertion the industry rejects. read more

There is no recorded incident of an orca EVER killing a human being in the wild. For some reason that scientists still don't understand, wild Orcas simply don't attack humans. And the few times that Orcas mistake humans for another animal and try to attack, they immediately broke off their attack once they realized it was a human. read more

Only a few of the incidents ever made it into the news. On September 28, 1987, an unidentified killer whale bit trainer Mark McHugh on the hand during training. On September 30, 1987, during a performance, a 24-year-old SeaWorld San Diego trainer named Chris Barlow was rammed in the stomach by an unidentified orca. read more