In celebration of his own idiocy, a 50-year-old New Zealand man dove off his boat in what appears to be an attempt to land on top of an orca swimming near his boat. The incident happened off the coast of Devonport, Auckland while a calf was swimming alongside the larger male orca. The man's co-idiots cheered him on and posted video of his antics on social media. (Video below.) Fortunately, someone reported the stupidity to the Department of Conservation.
"The video left us genuinely stunned," said DOC investigation officer Hayden Loper in a statement. "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.
"This is stupid behaviour and demonstrates a shocking disregard for the welfare of the orca. It is extremely irresponsible. Orca 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."
"It's a very clear breach of the Marine Mammals Protection Act. Orca are classified as whales under conservation legislation and it is illegal to swim with whales, or disturb or harass any marine mammal."
Previously:
• Orca rams boat… 2,000 miles from the prior killer whale attacks
• Orcas toss yacht 'like a rag doll' in Gibraltar Strait attack
