50-year-old man tried to ‘body slam’ killer whale, officials say. Now he’s been fined

A 50-year-old man tried to “body slam” a killer whale off the coast of New Zealand, officials said. Now, he’s been slapped with a fine.

In a video posted to Instagram earlier this year, the man can be seen jumping from a boat sailing near Auckland, according to a May 21 news release from the country’s Department of Conservation (DOC).

The footage shows the man diving toward an adult male orca near the vessel in what appeared to be a purposeful effort to “body slam” the animal, according to conservation officials.

Once in the water, he can be seen paddling toward the animal to again try to make contact.

The man can also be heard yelling “I touched it” before asking the people on the boat — who were cheering and laughing — if they had caught the moment on camera.

Shortly after the incident, several calls were made to DOC expressing concern about people getting too close to the orcas. And later on, officials were made aware of the Instagram video.

“The video left us genuinely stunned,” Hayden Loper, a DOC principal investigation officer, said in the release. “This is stupid behavior 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,” Loper added.

The incident was “a very clear” infringement of the Marine Mammals Protection Act, which prohibits swimming with certain whales and harassing any marine mammals, officials said.

As a result, the man, an Auckland resident /who wasn’t publicly identified, was fined 600 New Zealand dollars, or roughly $365 in USD.

“This is the third case in recent years in which social media content has led to a successful prosecution for DOC and we greatly appreciate the tip-offs we get from the public,” Loper said.

McClatchy News has reached out to the Department of Conservation for further information.

This story was originally published May 22, 2024 at 1:25 PM with the headline "50-year-old man tried to ‘body slam’ killer whale, officials say. Now he’s been fined."