A New Zealand man has been fined over a social media video in which he tries to “body slam” an orca swimming next to his boat, in what officials called “stupid” and “extremely irresponsible” behavior.
In a video the Department of Conservation says was shared to Instagram in February, the 50-year-old Auckland man, whom authorities did not name, jumped off the boat into waters off the coast of the Auckland suburb of Devonport, where an adult male orca and calf were swimming nearby.
The man yells “I touched it” to the other people on the boat and then asks, “Did you get that?” in an apparent reference to whether his encounter with the orca was successfully filmed. He then tries to touch the animal again. Other people aboard the vessel can be heard laughing and cheering in the background.
A member of the public had alerted the Department of Conservation to the video, which principal investigation officer Hayden Loper said left officials “genuinely stunned.”
“This is stupid behavior and demonstrates a shocking disregard for the welfare of the orca. It is extremely irresponsible,” Loper said in a statement on Tuesday.
He added that orca, also known as killer whales, are protected in New Zealand and it is illegal to swim with them.
