Orca Aggression Towards Humans

In the wild, despite centuries of sharing the ocean, there has only been one reliable report of an orca injuring a human being. The attack occurred on September 9, 1972, when 18-year-old Hans Kretschmer was bitten by an orca whilst surfing at Point Sur. Kretschmer noticed some sea lions playing in the waves prior to the attack, leading him to believe the sudden nudge he received was a curious sea lion. When he turned to look at the instigator, he realised he was terribly mistaken. A six-meter-long killer whale had bitten down on his leg with incredible force. In an attempt to defend himself, Kretschmer punched the animal repeatedly, causing it to suddenly let him go. Once free, the shock-ridden surfer desperately swam 40 meters to shore, a swim which he survived.

While there are is only one report of orca agression in the wild, there are numerous reports of aggression in captivity. 3 of which have been fatal for the human involved.

Date:	Whale('s) involved	Incident
1991/02/20	Haida 2, Nootka 4, Tilikum	Trainer Keltie Byrne, 20, slipped into the whale pool and was carried into the middle by Haida 2, and repeatedly submerged as the other two orcas, Nootka 4 and Tilikum, joined in. After futile attempts of rescue, Byrne drowned.
1999/07/05	Tilikum	A dead man's body was found at SeaWorld Florida in Orlando, scratched, bruised and draped over Tilikum, the largest killer whale in captivity. The 27-year-old, later identified as Daniel Dukes, apparently made his way past security at SeaWorld, remaining in the park after it had closed. Wearing only his underwear, the man either jumped, fell or was pulled into Tilikum's huge tank. A medical examiner concluded the man suffered hypothermia and drowned.
2006/11/29	Kasatka	Kasatka attacked Kenneth Peters, SeaWorld San Diego's most experienced trainer, during a show at Shamu Stadium. Kasatka grabbed the trainer's foot and dove to the bottom of the 36-foot tank. They surfaced less than a minute later, but she ignored other trainers' signals to draw her to the side. The orca dove a second time with the trainer for about a minute. Peters only escaped after other trainers worked a large safety net between the two. He suffered puncture wounds and a broken left foot.
2010/02/24	Tilikum	A veteran animal trainer was killed Wednesday at SeaWorld Florida when one of the show's killer whales dragged her underwater. SeaWorld said that Tilikum pulled Dawn Brancheau, 40, into the orca's tank about 2pm. Witnesses told that the animal suddenly grabbed Brancheau by the upper arm, tossed her around in his mouth and pulled her beneath the water as dozens of tourists looked on in horror. The coroner catalogued a fractured neck, a broken jaw, and a dislocated elbow and knee.
2006/11/15	Orkid	A SeaWorld trainer was injured when Orkid grabbed senior trainer Brian Rokeach by the leg, pulled him to the bottom of the pool and held him under water for about 26 seconds. Orkid released Rokeach after Peters repeatedly slapped the water, the signal for the animals to return to the front of the Shamu Stadium stage. Rokeach suffered a torn ankle ligament but was not hospitalized.
1987/11/21	Orky 2	Trainer John Sillick, 26, suffered fractured vertebrae (T1 to T12), a fractured femur, and a fractured pelvis after Orky 2 breached on top of him while riding on another orca during a performance. Sillick had less than two years experience working with orcas.