An orca has attacked a sailboat in a rare harbor encounter, entering the Bay of Gibraltar, towards the north end, on July 30, before clashing with a sailboat.
The vessel suffered only minimal damage on the hull, as it backed away as soon as it realized an orca was approaching. For several months, the whales have been wreaking havoc on boats in the Strait of Gibraltar, which separates Europe from Africa.
However, this is the first time an attack has been reported in the harbor. The orca responsible, and its pod, had not been sighted in the waters for around a month before that weekend, Gibraltar news outlet the Chronicle reported.
Orcas first started attacking boats in 2020, but the clashes have intensified recently, particularly in the Strait of Gibraltar and off the coasts of Spain and Portugal. There is evidence to suggest the attacks could be spreading further north, but it remains to be seen whether this is part of a trend.
The reason why remains unclear. However, orcas are incredibly intelligent animals and there are numerous theories. One is that this is learnt behavior, spreading from one pod to another. Another theory is that it is just one pod of orcas responsible.
Dr. Renaud de Stephanis, director of Conservation, Information and Research on Cetaceans (CIRCE), believes these attacks are a form of game for the orcas.
"This is mostly happening in the area of Barbate and Conil, but it can also happen outside of this zone," De Stephanis told The Chronicle, following this most-recent incident.
"They have been tracked in the area of Gibraltar and Marbella, but it is very infrequent. Ultimately what is happening is just a game for the orcas. A sailing boat has a rudder, the rudder moves, and this is a fun, new game for them. What they do is they go underneath the boat. They push it up and break the rudder, but the problem is when the boat stops, and they spend more time attacking the rudder."
Sometimes, these attacks have become so severe that boats have sunk as a result, but this is rare.
Most scientists do not believe these attacks are an act of aggression. David Lusseau, professor of marine sustainability at the Technical University of Denmark, previously told Newsweek he doesn't believe the attacks come from aggression.
"I am sorry to say that, if a killer whale (even more so with a group of killer whales) had aggressive intentions, most interactions would not end well, at all, regardless of the actions of the skippers," Lusseau said.
"So, it is my opinion that this is not aggressive behavior, and definitely not planned behavior with more complex motivations, such as revenge. Vessels are objects in the environment of these killer whales.
"A few individuals figured out that they could manipulate those objects for some unknown motivation (play, social behavior, dexterity practice, fun, etc) and it stuck in this population as something to do," Lusseau said. "The question now is whether it is a fad that will pass by or a cultural trait that will become fixed in the population."
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Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Robyn White is a Newsweek Nature Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on wildlife, science and the ... Read more
