Swimming with Orca: My Life with New Zealand's Killer Whales

by Ingrid Visser

The inspiring stories of Dr Ingrid Visser's encounters with orca. Called orca by some, and killer whales by others, these mysterious animals have become part of Ingrid's life. She has got to know many orca by sight and calls them her friends. Her experiences with orca challenge their fearsome reputation: she gets into the water with them, watches them hunt, and communicates in any way she can. Ingrid is the only orca researcher working in the South Pacific. This book details her fascinating discoveries, as well as telling her own personal story and describing her amazing adventures.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Science, Natural History, Nature, Memoir, Biography

240 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2005

Reviews

[Rachel (Sfogs) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is every orca-lover's dream book. The true story of Dr Ingrid Visser's triumphs and trials, being the only the only researcher of New Zealand's orca. Jam-packed with information on this very special species. And full of laugh-out-loud stories of some very cheeky individual orca, with a few really sad ones. I REALLY loved this book. When I was younger my grandparents taped the 'Our World' documentary (the one Ingrid speaks of in this book) and we watched it hundreds of times while at their bach in Kaikoura. So we always dreamed of seeing orca, and with many close misses finally got to see them many years later. A few years ago we traveled to Canada and did a wildlife cruise and spent many hours with one pod of orca, who seemed to be just as interested in us, as we were of them. :D

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very refreshing read for all the orca fans out there! It was so wonderful to read a book written by a published scientist who isn't afraid to broach the more emotional topics surrounding orcas. She speaks frankly about her own work, and like any scientist worth their salt, admits to any strengths or weaknesses. But the scientific side is also balanced by a much more emotional story of her interactions with the whales. She has some wonderful stories of meeting killer whales on their own turf (surf?) that are very heartwarming.

[Sally Ann Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book, I'm not a science fan but it didn't matter because I have a keen interest in Orca.
Ingrid Visser has led a dedicated life and continues to do so her passion for Orca allows the reader to see though her eyes and understand the scientific side of her research.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Immensely interesting and readable account of Visser's work with New Zealand orca. It's primarily focused on the work she did as a PhD student and, given there were few cetacean scientists working in New Zealand at the time, and absolutely no-one working on orca, Visser basically built orca research in this country from the ground up during her time as a grad student. That, I think, makes this book particularly interesting, as readers almost learn as Visser does, following along as she tries new things, not knowing if they will work (and sometimes they don't). It's accessible, is what I'm saying.

It's also very informative. I've always like orca myself, but I didn't know a great deal about them, and now I really want to know more. Their social structure seems fascinating, especially how they care for disabled members of their pod, such as Prop, who was injured after a run-in with a propeller and who never reached the full size and strength of her pod-mates in consequence. It seems looking after Prop was a long-term endeavour that the rest of the pod was quite willing to undertake - the pod moved, on average, a third slower than other pods, and Visser theorised that it was done deliberately so that Prop could keep up. This is not even getting into the food sharing that kept her well-fed. Humans should behave so well!

Just a really enjoyable read.

[Sam Lipman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Ingrid Visser is a very strong and inspirational woman who has dedicated her life to killer whales. Her life-story is a very intriguing one and her passion for her work is felt throughout the book. Very rarely does a scientist make themselves or their research so available to the general public. If you love killer whales and/or autobiographies about scientific researchers or simply strong, willful characters, this is the book for you!

[Katey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've admired Dr Visser for awhile now, a scientist with not only a passion for the animals she researches, but also actually loves and respects them (you would think these things weren't mutually exclusive, but they are). She's also an outspoken advocate for the orca suffering in captivity.

Perhaps I wanted a bit more about actual orca biology and behaviour in this book, and while there is that, this was really her story, and the educational and professional hurdles she experienced in getting funding for research for her PhD and beyond. I'm glad that was included, as I don't think many in the public understand how much of a struggle it is for a research scientist to be able to perform the work they want.

[Katherine Bock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative

This book was a great follow up to the documentary I saw; explains in great detail what it’s like to research Orca, love Orca and want to learn a little something more about them.

[Orky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly informative book about the New Zealand orcas. I’d love to see Dr. Visser write a new book someday about what she’s learned since the publishing of this!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book, I loved reading Ingrid's experiences with the orca. She really brings each Orca she met alive and we come to see them as individuals with more self awareness than we realized. I have always loved Orca and this was a pleasure to read. I know it's a bit on the dated side now, but she did so much to further Orca research. It's amazing to me how much work Ingrid did to get the Orca the recognition they deserve.

[K M Huber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the up-close-and-personal look at the New Zealand orca community and the scientific world around it. This is a great contribution to the research, and an inspiration. May the research be supported and funded so that Ingrid Visser can continue to share with the world the many things we have to learn from this fascinating species.

[deborah planck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on orca

Very interesting we'll written easy to understand her love of orca and research has changed the way scientists and layman regard and handle orca must watch her documentary.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a little simple; I wish the author had included more information, elaborated more. But this book gave me a lot of great information, especially since I plan on studying orca. I also loved all the pictures she included, and how she talked about captivity.

[Megann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an interesting read, I can't believe how different the New Zealand orca seem to be compared to orcas in other locations such as Canada. These beautiful creatures should be kept in the ocean and not in tanks.

[Michelle Siy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr Visser does a great job of telling the story from a personal standpoint and a scientific one. She often explains things with both “head and heart” and it is digestible to read as a non-scientist. Lovely story!!

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I felt the author had a way of really pulling you into the book which is often difficult in nonfiction.

[Em's Adventures · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first two chapters got me really excited about this book. I wanted to know more about this interesting woman who has sailed all over the world and gone on to work with Orcas in my homeland New Zealand. But I was so disappointed. I thought this was going to be about the authors life, but instead it is focused almost solely on the whales and their habits. If you want to know all about Orcas, from their feeding habits, conservation efforts, biology and study then you will enjoy this book because it is simply saturated with facts and information. The author only mildly gets a look in. Maybe I should've persevered but I was getting so tired of skim reading.

[Sedef · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered Ingrid Visser in my early college days & since I was little had dreams of becoming a Marine biologist. When I was looking into internships In Hawaii I came across her video and at the time I was really into whales,particulary Orca and Humpback whales. There was something that just gripped my heart watching her documentary and ive been fascinated, in awe and envious of how incredible her life is and how brave and intelligent a women can be. I never stayed on the path to pursue my biology degree & later learned boats weren't for me on a whale watching trip, but the sea and her story will never not have a giant place in my heart.

[Natalie Ho · Rating 5 out of 5]

If anyone ever dreamt of becoming a cetacean researcher, he/she would definitely enjoy this book. Visser described her journey towards becoming the first researcher of the New Zealand orca in detail and provided insight to her work, experience, and the ups and downs. It provides a good overview of what it entails to become a researcher, from the hardship of looking for funding, submitting papers and finding the right supervisor to the various close encounters with orca.

The book is also really inspiring in terms of the reality of research work with orca and how little we actually know about this species despite it being one of the most well-studied cetaceans in the world. It's a very enjoyable read and I would recommend it to all animal-lovers out there.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading about the author's interactions with wild orcas in New Zealand. I just love these amazing, intelligent, and friendly animals!