Orca whales and people often seem to be attracted to each other. These whales (a member of the porpoise family) have never been known to attack a human. They swim in pods (or groups), and some pods are more friendly than others. For instance, a man once reported that while rowing his boat on Puget Sound a pod overtook him, but slowed down to swim alongside. One of them swam back and forth under his boat several times, lightly brushing the boat with its fin, as though wanting to be friendly. Scientists studying them get to know some well enough to give them individual names.
The lively antics of orca whales are amusing and amazing. Naturally playful, they seem to challenge one another in leaping and splashing, breaching (jumping out of the water) as much as 30 feet, turning somersaults in the air, swatting the water with their tails, twisting their bodies and landing on their sides or backs with a big splash.
Another form of amusement for them is to dive under a patch of kelp (a water plant), and with their mouths pull strands of it loose from the roots. Kelp has air sacs that enable it to grow upright in the water, and when its stem is cut loose from the roots it rapidly shoots out of the water a foot or so into the air. The whales seem to enjoy this. Incidentally, they don’t eat the kelp-it just washes ashore in the waves.
They never seem to fight among themselves. This is unusual and is another of the Creator’s wonders. An observer in a boat reported watching two pods traveling in opposite directions meet near the surface. He watched to see what they would do. When about 50 feet apart, both pods stopped for half a minute, then submerged and mixed, passing each other with gentle touches as a greeting and then resumed their separate ways. They are kind to each other in another way. When one of them is injured and can’t swim to the surface for air (being mammals they breathe air), others immediately come to help it. They swim under it, bumping it to the surface where it can breathe.
They are known to often visit rock-bottomed shallow areas where they can rub their stomachs, sides and backs on the rocks. They apparently do this to rid themselves of small creatures sticking to them, or perhaps just to scratch an itch.
We know the Creator took great delight in placing these lively creatures in ocean waters, and they are all under His watchful care day and night.
Does He look on people, too? He certainly does. In Job 34:2121For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings. (Job 34:21) we are told: “For His eyes are upon the ways of man, and He seeth all his goings.” What does He see as He watches you?
ML-01/13/1991