Animal behaviour experts have weighed in on why orcas off the Spanish coasts have been attacking yachts. Marine researchers from Spain and Portugal have been investigating killer whales in the vicinity of the Iberian Peninsula and documenting these incidents over the last three years.
In 2020, such a team observed 52 such occurrences, resulting in damage to rudders in some instances. This figure increased to 197 in 2021 and further escalated to 207 in 2022.
The killer whales seem to be intentionally targeting boats across a broad area that extends from the western coast of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, to the northwestern region of Galicia in Spain.
Wild theories have been thrown around in a bid to explain this extraordinary behaviour. These theories range from orca frustration with human intrusion into their territory to stories about an orca mother known as Black Gladys seeking vengeance after her offspring were killed by a yacht propeller.
However, experts believe that ‘Black Gladys’ is not the whale behind the attacks. Another theory places the blame on young orcas who may be acting according to a « trend ».
Orcas, as members of the dolphin family, are highly intelligent beings known for their participation in complex social behaviours. The theory is that once these young trendsetting orcas started the « trend » of colliding with boats others joined in.
The Director of Science at the non-profit OceanCare Mark Simmonds told Olive Press: « It had no obvious biological significance to them,
« So we think that this is probably mainly a form of creative play behaviour and signalling to each other. The consensus is that they’re doing this to show off. In the same way, these particular orcas have discovered how to manipulate these boats, which is interesting, and in some ways, stimulating to them. »
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