Why will a wild killer whale attack a seal, but not a human?

Would you eat a lobster? Most people would. Would you eat… a grasshopper? Most people wouldn't. Despite being basically the same thing: a meaty arthropod. In fact, some cultures do eat grasshopers regularly. So it comes down to what are you used to eat. read more

Building on the whale tale concept, we might have, at some point, a whale song that goes like “great great granny once ate a human, it didn’t taste very nice and it punched her on the nose, moral of the story, seals are easier”. read more

A third possible reason is that we don’t resemble any food source killer whales typically depend on. There have reportedly been incidents where an orca attempted to hunt a human, but broke off the hunt immediately upon realizing it wasn’t a sea lion. read more

Observation has shown that one answer may not be far from the ancient legend. Killer whales seem to follow rules that go beyond basic instinct and border on culture. Individual pods forage, communicate and navigate differently, much the way different cultures of people do. Researchers have witnessed “greeting ceremonies” between pods. read more