Watch a Killer Whale Charge a Small Fishing Boat
A group of fisherman had a harrowing encounter with an orca last month while catching halibut in Alaska
A short clip posted to Youtube today shows a scary encounter with an orca, or killer whale, off the coast of southeast Alaska. In the video, an angler is seen catching a halibut, in waters near the small fishing village of Hoonah, Alaska, when a lone orca peels off from its pod and makes a beeline for his outboard motor. See it for yourself below.
“We were anchored in 225 feet of water,” wrote the fisherman, who shared the video to Youtube via ViralHog. “I was filming a pod of orcas just off the front of our boat … I turned to see a 4-foot fin coming directly at us from the rear of the boat.”
The video starts with a group of anglers admiring at least three orcas as they breech the surface several hundred yards from the boat’s bow. Suddenly, one of the men lets out a yelp and the camera swings to reveal a lone orca heading straight for the boat’s transom at an alarming rate of speed. Then, the angler with the camera realizes he has a halibut on the end of his line.
“I didn’t want to hook the orca, so I reeled as fast as I could while I continued to film,” the fisherman wrote. “The little halibut was just out of his reach as they both got to the boat at the same time.”
Read Next: Watch a Massive Great White Shark Hammer a Bluefin Tuna Inches from a Fishing Boat
The orca approached to within a few feet of the back of the boat, then careened around the side of the vessel before diving beneath it. “[He came to] a stop directly beneath our boat,” the Youtube caption states. “I pulled the fish into the boat and as I unhooked it, I looked over the side and there was a giant killer whale looking up at me with one eye. I still had the little halibut in my hand, so I dropped it back in the water, hoping that was all he wanted.”
The orca stayed under the boat for awhile examining the anglers, according to the story in the video caption, but eventually swam away—leaving the anglers to their halibut honey hole. “I picked up my camera and got another video of the whale as he rolled out from under the boat and went on his way,” the caption reads. “We all took a deep breath and continued to fish.”
