New Zealand man filmed trying to ‘body slam’ an orca in actions described as ‘idiotic’

The actions of a New Zealand man filmed jumping off a boat in what appears to be an attempt to "body slam" an orca have been described as "shocking" and "idiotic" by the country's Department of Conservation.

In a video shared to Instagram in February, a man can be seen jumping off the edge of a boat into the sea off the coast of Devonport in Auckland, in what appears to be a deliberate effort to touch or "body slam" the orca, the department said. He leaps into the water very close to a male orca, as a calf swims nearby, while someone on board the boat films it. Others can be heard laughing and swearing in the background.

As he swims back towards the boat he yells "I touched it" and asks "did you get that?" He then attempts to touch the orca again.

Hayden Loper, a principal investigator at the department, said the 50-year-old man showed reckless disregard for his own safety and that of the orca. "The video speaks for itself, it is shocking and absolutely idiotic behaviour," he said.

The department received a tip-off about the video from a couple of concerned people who had seen the footage on social media. Working with police, the department identified the man and handed him a $600 infringement fine.

"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, or disturb or harass any marine mammal," he said.

Loper said often people breach the act by accident, for example taking a jetski too close to a marine mammal, but in this case, "it [was] a real blatant example of stupidity".