A group of orcas in the waters around the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe has been displaying unusual behavior by ramming into sailboats. Scientists are currently studying this queer behavior and trying to understand its underlying causes and only have a rough explanation of this bizarre action. Not only are the orcas attacking sailboats, but they have also been observed surrounding other vessels, which is a newly observed tactic.
Although orcas are commonly known as killer whales, they are actually a type of dolphin. Despite their name, they have never been known to attack humans. However, since 2020, a group of orcas in the region has been exhibiting a different pattern of behavior, specifically targeting sailboats.
One boat captain, Dan Kriz, had his boat’s propeller destroyed by orcas in 2020. In April, while on another boat crossing shipping lines near the Canary Islands, he experienced a big wave crashing onto his boat than later followed by a second hit. He realized his worst nightmare was repeating. Dan’s fearful reaction was met with amusement on social media, leading to numerous memes and photos about the orcas.
Another sailor, Andrea Fantini, and his crew were sailing towards Tangier on the Moroccan coast when they spotted an orca in the distance. However, they were taken by surprise when several orcas approached their vessel and attacked the rudder, even surrounding them. Fantini described the experience as both weird and a bit scary.
Alfredo López Fernández, an orca researcher at the Atlantic Orca Working Group (GTOA) monitoring the Iberian orcas, explained that the orcas display a focused and well-organized behavior when attempting to bite off rudders from boats. Similar attacks on tuna fishing boats were observed in 2020, where the orcas would bite off fishing lines and sometimes bump or ram the fishing boats. According to Fernández, the orcas do not exhibit a hostile or aggressive attitude in these incidents, despite causing damage. This complex behavior is believed to be unrelated to aggression.
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230626-why-are-orcas-suddenly-ramming-boats
https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7bbnn/orca-uprising-attacking-boats
Although orcas are commonly known as killer whales, they are actually a type of dolphin. Despite their name, they have never been known to attack humans. However, since 2020, a group of orcas in the region has been exhibiting a different pattern of behavior, specifically targeting sailboats.
One boat captain, Dan Kriz, had his boat’s propeller destroyed by orcas in 2020. In April, while on another boat crossing shipping lines near the Canary Islands, he experienced a big wave crashing onto his boat than later followed by a second hit. He realized his worst nightmare was repeating. Dan’s fearful reaction was met with amusement on social media, leading to numerous memes and photos about the orcas.
Another sailor, Andrea Fantini, and his crew were sailing towards Tangier on the Moroccan coast when they spotted an orca in the distance. However, they were taken by surprise when several orcas approached their vessel and attacked the rudder, even surrounding them. Fantini described the experience as both weird and a bit scary.
Alfredo López Fernández, an orca researcher at the Atlantic Orca Working Group (GTOA) monitoring the Iberian orcas, explained that the orcas display a focused and well-organized behavior when attempting to bite off rudders from boats. Similar attacks on tuna fishing boats were observed in 2020, where the orcas would bite off fishing lines and sometimes bump or ram the fishing boats. According to Fernández, the orcas do not exhibit a hostile or aggressive attitude in these incidents, despite causing damage. This complex behavior is believed to be unrelated to aggression.
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230626-why-are-orcas-suddenly-ramming-boats
https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7bbnn/orca-uprising-attacking-boats