A Brave Kayaker Plays a ‘Game of Chicken’ With a Charging Pod of Killer Whales… And Wins!

What is it like kayaking where killer whales swim? If you paddle in the Puget Sound in Washington, you may find yourself face-to-face with a pod of killer whales, also known as orcas. Despite their frightening name, orca attacks on humans in the wild are exceedingly rare. However, this changes when orcas are kept in captivity, and there are multiple instances of captive orcas attacking and killing humans. But in the wild, generally, when kayakers encounter orcas, they have nothing to fear.

A Kayaker Encounters an Orca Pod in the Puget Sound

In a video posted on YouTube, Kevin Godfrey shared a video where a kayaker in the Eld Inlet of the Puget Sound sits and watches as a pod of killer whales approaches. The tension grows as the orcas approach, and the sound of water spraying from their blowholes becomes louder and louder. The water grows quiet as the whales swim underwater, but each time they emerge, they are a little closer to the paddler. And finally, one appears to dive directly under the kayak. And then all is quiet as they continue through the bay.

Orcas Live in Pods Made of Family Groups

Orcas are extremely intelligent and social. They live in pods led by an older female, or matriarch. Males will stay in their mother’s pods for their entire lives. Adult females may have their own children and leave the pod, however, they are often found living near their mothers. The pods associate with each other in groups called clans. Groups of clans are called communities.

How Likely Are You to Encounter Orcas in Washington’s Puget Sound?

A popular kayaking spot in Washington is the southern part of Puget Sound near Olympia, known as the Eld Inlet. This long, narrow bay is home to a diverse wildlife population including shellfish, salmon, humpback whales, and orcas. Because boating, kayaking, and paddling are such popular activities here, some wildlife experts are concerned that the orcas are getting overcrowded by the sheer number of people and boats in the water. Depending on the time of year, it can be common for kayakers to encounter orcas in the water.

Be Whale Wise, a program from the Whale Museum at Friday Harbor, provides guidelines for anyone encountering orcas in the water. For example, boats are required by law to stay 1,000 yards away from whales. Traveling the area by kayak, canoe, or stand-up paddleboard is a low-impact way to explore the beautiful area and see wildlife up close. However, there are ways to avoid disturbing the marine wildlife. Be Whale Wise also offers guidance to paddlers and kayakers when they spot pods of orcas. Such as moving out of the path of orcas if possible when you see them coming. If it’s not possible to do so, paddlers should stop paddling until the whales pass.

Where Did Orcas Get the Name ‘Killer Whale’?

Orcas are toothed whales and are closely related to narwhals and belugas, sperm whales, beaked whales, dolphins, and porpoises. They are massive, and male orcas can weigh up to 22,000 pounds. Experts believe they got the name “killer whale,” not for hunting humans, but when ancient sailors saw them hunting large whales.

Orcas are carnivores and eat a large variety of marine animals, from fish to dolphins to large whales. Despite their danger to marine mammals, orcas don’t usually attack humans. Erich Hoyt, author of “Orca: The Whale Called Killer,” told Live Science that killer whales simply don’t eat humans. “They are fussy eaters,” he said, “really conservative in terms of whatever they learned from their mothers and from their pod about what constitutes food.”

Why Are Orcas Attacking People in Captivity?

Unlike orcas encountering people in the wild, in captivity, the story is different. There have been dozens of violent encounters between humans and orcas in captivity in the past 30 years. Scientists don’t know the exact reason for the attacks, but they theorize that living in an aquarium for an orca is similar to a jail cell for a human. The orcas may have attacked the human handlers out of frustration or simply boredom.

What Is Happening in the Iberian Peninsula?

Since 2020, orca behavior in the Iberian Peninsula has baffled scientists. A small pod of orcas has been ramming and sinking boats near the coast of Morocco, Spain, and Portugal. Over 600 encounters have been recorded, but not every one resulted in damage to the boat. Scientists studying the behavior believe the orcas are not trying to be aggressive, but are having fun, “playing” with the boats. Boaters in the area are advised to move away from the whales when they spot them.

Scientists speculate it could be a temporary fad among the pod of whales to interact with the boats. Scientists have noticed orcas sometimes engage in “fads,” such as the time when a group of orcas was seen wearing dead salmon on their heads like hats. The behavior, just like a human fad, came and left quickly.