For two decades, scientists documented behavior that no one expected to find in wild orcas: 34 times, they voluntarily approached strangers to offer them food. And in almost every case, they did something even more puzzling: they stayed and waited for a response.
It happened in Norway, California, New Zealand, and Patagonia, according to the study led by Jared Towers together with Ingrid Visser and Vanessa Prigollini, published in the Journal of Comparative Psychology. In 21 cases, the people were in boats; in 11, they were swimming; and in two, the orcas came directly to the shore. They offered everything from fish, birds, and marine mammals to even seaweed. In total, there were 18 different species, but all the encounters shared the same pattern: after leaving the gift in front of the humans, the orcas remained nearby, watching their reaction.
But the most incredible thing was that when someone did not accept the gift, the orcas picked up the object and tried again. As if they were waiting for something from you.
Why do they do it? Scientists still do not have a definitive answer. But the pattern was so consistent that they rule out the possibility that these were mere accidents; there is interest on their part, and they may be trying to find out how we respond.