Orcas playing with swimmer at Hahei Beach, New Zealand (Original)

Song - Peter Sandberg - Dismantle

Filmed on 4 December at Hahei Beach on the Coromandel peninsular, New Zealand. I was watching a pod of orcas swimming up the beach, I saw a swimmer swimming along shore directly towards them, at this point I asked my partner to get my mobile phone as I wasn’t sure what would happen and I may have to call for help. The orcas circled her and she got quite the fright. She then got out the water as she was only 20m from shore. Some on lookers chatted to her about the experience and then to my surprise she got back into the water and swam back towards the pod, to I assume continue her training swim. I then launched the drone and filmed from a fair distance away making sure not to disturb the pod of orcas. What I witnessed was truly amazing.

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[GrabbaBeer]

Orca to its babies: “Don’t eat those, they’re full of chemicals and preservatives”

[TheWinterShadow]

Orcas are still up holding their 'no killing human' policy. They rock!

[breannanorthrup]

this would honestly would be the most beautiful and terrifying moment of my life.

[stevenreichertart]

Imagine swimming and seeing a gigantic orca come up within inches of you. Simultaneously awesome and terrifying.

[tomhecht]

Seals are watching from shore and thinking, "why can"t I do that?"

[BlackBarney]

I don't know how that swimmer just keeps swimming like it's a Tuesday.

[bunnysue]

Orcas: "Look at the poor handicapped creature trying to swim"

[solarex]

Looks like the mother is actually trying to rescue the swimmer by redirecting her towards the beach...amazing.

[georgeabraham]

as long as you have orcas swimming with you, nothing will hurt you in the ocean

[brendon]

Just a couple orcas trying to figure out what in the hell that incredibly slow thing was

[ethanl]

A thing to note is that orcas have generational knowledge. In other words, most orcas only eat what their mother or grandmother has taught them to hunt. There are communities of orcas that scientists have noted that eat majority stingrays, seals, or fish, even ignoring easier catches for these specific prey. In fact, a group of orcas have been known to ignore chinook salmon that swim past them, preferring to wait for fattier ones that arrive later.

For this reason, there have been no orca attacks on humans in the wild, and this behavior has been known for centuries. The Tlingit people of the Pacific Northwest actually have a myth that explains why orcas never attack humans.

There are people that will make the argument that it's possible that orcas might mistake humans for seals. Yes, there are videos of orcas out there who have seemingly tried to attack humans, but they all aborted their hunt after getting close enough to realize that it's not a seal. Orcas aren't sharks. They're far more intelligent. They know you're not a seal.

[billy]

The fact that the swimmer never misses a single stroke makes it clear he’s/she’s seen this before.
Still amazing!!!

[briggsmeboi]

It’s so amazing that something that strong and fearsome in the wild can just swim up to a human out of just pure curiosity and swim with it for awhile.

[neillaidlaw]

If that was me you would have seen a new world record in speed swimming and a very long brown trail

[awesomecoolepicawesome]

I just love how she kept swimming, I mean the shore is right there and she didn’t feel in any danger. Beautiful.

[dangoldstein]

"Dont eat that son, its junk food and you dont know where its been"

[danielekaas]

Scary as it might be, it would be the one time I know for a fact that I wouldn't have to be afraid of a shark attack.

[James-ipgz]

This video showed me just how slow we are in water

[Hikergy]

Look how majestic that swimmer is, it’s truly fascinating watching her swim in the ocean. You could tell how safe the whales felt with the swimmer keeping them safe from sharks.. humans are amazing creatures and given such a bad wrap. I love this.. I hope one day to see a swimmer in the wild.

[elden]

“Hey little weirdo, are you lost? The shore is that way.”