Killer whales are marine mammals from the suborder toothed whales and the dolphin family. It is the largest of the dolphins and the only true predator among cetaceans.
They can be up to 10 meters long and weigh up to 8 tons.
Killer whales are the real kings of the oceans and stand at the highest rung of the ocean food pyramid. As soon as they see the characteristic black-and-white color of killer whales, not only dolphins and whales, but even white sharks try to get out of their way. You can read more about how great white sharks are afraid of killer whales in the article "A predator has been discovered that even great white sharks are afraid of."
Depending on the region of their habitat, killer whales can feed on one fish (there are especially many such killer whales in the Norwegian Sea) or pinnipeds and penguins. When there is no suitable food, they can eat shellfish. However, never, for the entire observation period and taking into account the historical archives, has there been an attack by a killer whale on humans in its natural habitat (Paranormal news - paranormal-news.ru).
In captivity, yes. Killer whales sometimes killed and maimed their trainers, especially one male named Tilikum, who had three killed people on his account. Even then, these attacks were more accidental than trying to taste a person. Imagine being pushed by an animal weighing 8 tons, even a light push will be fatal for you.
Tilikum at a show at SeaWorld Orlando in 2009.
But why killer whales do not attack humans in nature is still a biological mystery.
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From the point of view of a large marine predator, humans are much easier prey than a seal or a penguin. He swims slower and is not so agile, and when a person is wearing a dark wetsuit, his resemblance to seals is even more complete. And in size, it is also similar to large seals, although this detail is insignificant, killer whales also attack very large whales.
However, killer whales somehow distinguish between people and seals, and if a diver swims around a flock of killer whales, for which seals are their natural prey, they will not attack him (although they can swim very close and decently scare). And they not only do not attack, but also allow themselves to be stroked.
Some researchers believe that killer whales do not attack people because of their highly developed mind and immediately understand that this is not their usual prey. Killer whales are really very smart. Those who have at least once seen with what cunning tactics and strategy they hunt seals on ice floes will never call killer whales ordinary animals.
Seal hunting by killer whales. Video in Russian:
It is possible that this theory is correct, because more "stupid" predators like sharks or crocodiles eat people for a sweet soul and do not worry. But on the other hand, these predators and people are much more common than killer whales. Sharks often swim in shallow waters near crowded beaches, and killer whales often try to stay away from the coast. Killer whales also mainly inhabit northern waters. Thus, a person is simply exotic for killer whales, and when they meet, they cannot understand whether they should eat it or not.
However, not everything fits together here either. There have been cases of killer whales attacking reindeer as they swam across the water. And killer whales, of course, are also not often found with deer in the water.
In addition, killer whales, like all dolphins, are extremely curious and love to taste even birds that have accidentally sat down on the water, which are also not included in their main prey.
There is another unusual theory according to which killer whales simply … do not like human meat. They say once upon a time a killer whale killed and ate a man and decided that he tasted unpleasant. And then I passed it on to my children, and those to their children. Killer whales are very family creatures, they swim in large groups of 15-25 individuals, in which all are close relatives to each other.
However, this theory is as fantastic as another version put forward by fans of esoteric practices. In their opinion, killer whales, with a certain telepathic feeling, feel in a person a related creature with a developed thinking and kill him for food or for another reason they are forbidden by a certain moral taboo.
However, this taboo does not prevent killer whales from devouring no less intelligent dolphins with appetite. For some groups of killer whales, dolphins are even the main prey.
So for now, this mystery remains unanswered.