'They Are Justifiably Angry': Do Dolphins and Orcas Want Revenge?

Dolphins have been attacking swimmers at a beach in Japan and some think it may be the animals getting revenge.

Four swimmers have so far been injured by dolphins off Suishohama beach near Mihama, officials have said.

One 60-year-old man was left with broken ribs and bite marks on his hands after a dolphin rammed into him on July 16, according to officials, as reported by the BBC. On the same day, a man in his 40s was bitten on the arm in the same area. Two others have also been hurt.

And, it has not been the only strange marine mammal interaction occurring recently.

Orcas have been targeting boats off the coast of Spain in recent months, smashing rudders and sometimes sinking the vessels altogether. It has led some commentators to claim the orcas were seeking vengeance, although the captain of one vessel is not convinced.

Sébastien Destremau's 15-ton yacht was ambushed by an orca pod but he insists his attackers were just playing around.

"They could crush the boat in a heartbeat if they wanted to," Destremau told Newsweek. "But they were not aggressive, they're not wanting to have a piece of you. They were just coming in very gently, placing their nose wherever they want to place it, and pushing hard. Every one of them would have a go and play a bit and push and break off a piece, and they were blowing bubbles, as well."

So what is really happening? One conservationist says people's view of dolphins is confused and that the mammals are "justifiably angry."

"Unfortunately due to people seeing dolphins performing in captivity, there is a misconception that these big, potentially dangerous wild animals are friendly and approachable," John Hourston, founder of ocean conservation group Blue Planet Society told Newsweek. "Japan supplies many of the world's dolphinariums and marine mammal parks with dolphins caught in the horrifically cruel drive-hunt at Taiji. I'm only half-joking when I say that perhaps these very smart animals at Suishohama beach are justifiably angry."

It may sound like a stretch, but this is one of the main theories circulating these attacks.

Videos posted to Twitter by @Ooo_MEN_ show one of the dolphin attacks in Japan.

While most people in the videos seem be on shore, watching the dolphin from afar, one man stays close on a float. He then seemingly gets shoved forward by the dolphin.

"The dolphins bite back. Payback time," one Twitter user said in response to the video.

"Years of rounding them up and slaughtering them in the most brutal way imaginable has consequences. Dolphins are sentient, highly intelligent creatures and you annually slaughter whole families. Payback time I think. It's your own fault," another Twitter user said.

Both dolphins and orcas have one thing in common when it comes to humans—they are kept in captivity at aquariums around the world. And they don't seem to like it.

Dolphins are usually friendly and gentle creatures in the wild. Attacks remain rare, but they are more likely to happen in captivity, when they are kept in small tanks and have little freedom to swim.

An example of this was seen in April 2022, when a dolphin attacked a trainer at Miami Seaquarium.

Swimming with dolphins in the wild is still romanticized, and beachgoers may take the opportunity when they see one near the shore. However, studies have found that the animals find that very stressful.

In July 2022, a woman at a beach in the Netherlands was filmed trying to ride a dolphin that had become separated from its pod.

The dolphin became stranded in the shallows near the beach and was struggling to get back into deeper water. Most beachgoers had been trying to help the troubled animal, however this swimmer had other ideas.

This is not the only time this has happened. In April 2022, beachgoers in Texas were observed trying to ride and swim with a stranded dolphin instead of calling rescue teams to help it.

Orcas, similarly, have only ever been known to directly attack people in captivity. However, the recent tendency for boat attacks have researchers scratching their heads.

In the case of boat attacks, researchers think that a string of these may be due to the influence of a single female orca named White Gladis, who initiated them. She may have caused the other orcas to learn from her behavior and follow suit.

"The orcas are doing this on purpose, of course. We don't know the origin or the motivation, but defensive behavior based on trauma, as the origin of all this, gains more strength for us every day," Alfredo López Fernandez, a biologist at the University of Aveiro in Portugal and member of the Grupo de Trabajo Orca Atlántica (Atlantic Orca Working Group), told LiveScience.

So, it is not completely far-fetched to suggest these attacks may be fueled by vengeance. In fact, studies have shown that animals do understand the notion of reciprocity and, thus, revenge.

Malini Suchak, an associate professor of animal behavior, ecology and conservation at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, said in 2020 she has no doubt many animals engage in reciprocity, "which we usually think of as 'you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours,'" Gizmodo reported.

But it's not always positive, Suchak said. "Reciprocity can also extend to negative acts, for example, if someone is a bad cooperator, you might refuse to cooperate with them in the future. That is something I saw in my own research with chimpanzees," she said.

Despite this, the recent attacks in Japan are more likely to be a result of humans getting too close to dolphins in the wild.

Dolphins are large animals, and can inflict severe damage on humans when they want to. They have very sharp teeth that can cause painful bites.

David Lusseau, professor of marine sustainability at the Technical University of Denmark, told Newsweek that aggression from dolphins remains rare but can occur.

"Dolphins are big wild mammals and as such can inflict injuries even if they might not intend to do so," he said.

Lusseau said it is hard to figure out what might have happened in the cases in Japan without knowing more details of the interactions; however, he noted that it took place in popular tourism spot.

"I think it is important perhaps to remind people who get the opportunity to engage with dolphins in the water without the help of professionals not to corner animals. If given the chance they will swim away if they want to. Things can become more problematic if they do not have that opportunity," Lusseau said.

"The injuries are really unfortunate but not unexpected if a dolphin was trying to escape a situation she did not want to sustain; these are large wild animals."

Orcas are incredibly intelligent animals, meaning they know when their territory is being threatened. This also means they rarely do things without reason.

And despite both being predators, humans are not on their menu.

When dolphins appear in the shallows by a beach, they will likely not hurt humans if given enough space.

Similarly, even if their motive is unclear, it is likely the orcas aren't actively trying to hurt humans. Other theories around the attacks include they are merely playing a game by chasing boats.

In short, if we leave them alone, they will leave us be too.