A New Zealand man has been hit with a hefty fine after engaging in outrageous conduct toward a killer whale.
Instagram video of the act shared by New Zealand’s Department of Conservation shows the 50-year-old diving recklessly towards the marine mammal from a boat.
“The video left us genuinely stunned,” investigation officer Hayden Loper said, according to The Sun.
Video of the conduct was originally shared to Instagram in February.
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The two whales near the boat were an adult male and a calf, according to the Department of Conservation.
The man, who was not identified other than by his age and as a resident of Auckland, continued his harassing conduct toward the animal even after attempting to land on it.
The whale harasser bragged to his friends that he “touched” the creature, as some appeared to cheer him on.
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“We got it, we got it!” a female observer said of the diver’s actions — as another boat rider appeared to drink a beer.
“As well as the initial attempt to dive onto the animal, the man stays in the water and then swims toward it again in a second attempt to touch it,” Loper said.
The man was fined the equivalent of about $600 for breaching New Zealand’s Marine Mammals Protection Act, The Sun reported.
He reportedly refused to speak to Loper and one of his colleagues when the wildlife officer visited his home to question him about the incident.
In spite of being an apex predator in the world’s oceans, killer whales — commonly known as orcas — aren’t a threat to humans.
Only in isolated cases have the large animals attacked boats, according to Business Insider.
In spite of this, Loper described the man’s harassing conduct as potentially dangerous.
“Orcas are immensely powerful animals, and this really could have ended horribly — with either the startled whale being injured, or the man responsible being harmed by the aggravated animal,” he said, according to The Sun.
“Orca are classified as whales under conservation legislation and it is illegal to swim with whales, or disturb or harass any marine mammal.”
