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Nayelli Bautista English 2010 Camille Pack The Killer Whale Expert

Orcas also called killer whales are the largest member of the dolphin family. They live all over the ocean but typically can be found in coastal waters. Killer whales are social animals that live in pods with their families (Southern Killer Whales). They are one of the top predators of the ocean and each pod has unique hunting techniques. They eat a variety of animals including seals, penguins, dolphins, whales and even polar bears. Killer whales lifespan in the wild for males is around thirty years and fifty years for the females (Southern Killer Whales). They are large animals with powerful jaws that some may consider dangerous nonetheless that does not stop Doctor Visser from jumping into the water with them. Born in New Zealand Doctor Ingrid Natasha Visser has dedicated her life to researching and protecting killer whales. She grew up in a farm with her sister and her parents. At an early age she loved animals and the beach. She learned to snorkel at the age of seven and collected

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magazines of dolphins and whales (Visser). Ingrid quickly learned to distinguish different species of mammals. At the age of sixteen she went on a life changing adventure with her family. She sailed around the world for over four years visiting fifty countries (Visser). Once returning from her escapade Ingrid realized her life calling was to help dolphins and whales in distress. She then entered Massey Universitys vet program. Ingrid ended up flunking out of the vet program and went on to study zoology. She was influenced by one of her professors to concentrate on the study of animal behavior. Ingrid wanted to study the orca of Patagonia. She went to a promotion party for David Attenboroughs book and was discouraged about working with the orca in Patagonia. However David did ask her if she had considered working with the orca there in New Zealand (Visser). Thats when her ambition began to start researching the killer whales of her country. She received her masters degree and went on to start her doctrine studies. Ingrid first encounter with a killer whale was an extraordinary experience for her. She was told of an orca sighting and rushed off to track it down. She dove into the water and started searching for the killer whale. To her surprise the killer whale was above her swimming in a circle with her calf. She locked eyes with the killer whale and saw the calf was carrying something in its mouth and later discovered it was a stingray (Visser). After this encounter she was ecstatic and began her killer whale project. Unfortunately there was no specific place or time of the year to spot the killer whales. Therefore she had to get a boat to track them down in the ocean. There were many difficult incidents for Ingrid including the death of her mother and finding sponsors. Ingrid was determined to study the orca and conquered all obstacles. She wrote articles for magazines, went

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on radio shows, and posted flyers to advise people to contact her if they spotted any killer whales. Ingrid received information of sightings and photographed a great deal of orca. She began adding them to her animal catalogue and classified them by date, location, picture, and lastly named them (Visser). This is a very rigorous process as she has to ensure she doesnt mismatch any of the killer whales profiles. Ingrid was able to gather information about killer whales unknown to others because she actually swims with the killer whales. She does not use any sort of protection she simply dives in and follows the orca for hours. During her research Ingrid discovered the New Zealand killer whales were unique to ones from other locations. They swam in tremendously shallow waters to hunt for sea rays and share their catch with each other. Killer whale strandings in New Zealand are very high because of this risky hunting method. Rays are dangerous animals that can harm the killer whales. Ingrid has encountered a killer whale whose death was caused by an allergic reaction to the rays barbs (Visser). She also found they like to feed on different species of sharks. This is also a dangerous prey because the sharks can attack the killer whales and possibly kill them. Ingrid believes the New Zealand killer whales love to interact with humans. She actually sticks her head in the ocean and blows bubbles at the orca while making eye contact. Whats really incredible is they blow bubbles back. She splashes water and talks to them and feels no sense of danger from them. They open and close their mouths as if theyre talking back to her. Ingrid spends a huge amount of time following the orcas and is convinced that they recognize her boat. They swim by her boat and let her stroke them and even touch their teeth (Visser). Killer whales have never attacked a human while in the wild however due to their stressful living conditions while in captivity they have attacked humans.

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Ingrid has published various scientific journals of her research. She has been involved in numerous rescues of killer whales and continues to fight for their safety. Currently she is involved in trying to free and rehabilitate killer whales in captivity. She goes to different events to speak about killer whales, gives whale watching tours, and helps with the filming of killer whale documentaries (Talks with Dr Visser). Many call her crazy, obsessive and reckless but she truly loves killer whales and has devoted her life to protect these beautiful animals.

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Works Cited Cumming, Geoff. "New Zealand Herald." APN Holdings NZ Limited, n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. "Southern Resident Killer Whales." Www.whaleresearch.com/. Center for Whale Research, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. "Talks & Tours with Dr Visser." Orca Research Trust. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. Visser, Ingrid Natasha. Swimming with orca. Penguin Global, 2006. Kindle AZW file.