Killer whales seem to be teaching their young to attack boats in Europe, as reported by quite a few eyewitnesses to the events.
As of 2020, there have been dozens of orca attacks in the Gilbralter Strait, with the beasts ramming boats, targeting their rudders and infrequently causing severe damage.
Scientists now imagine that one traumatic killer whale can have triggered the phenomenon.
An orca named White Gladis by researchers can have survived a “critical moment of agony,” believed to be a collision with a ship or some type of trap, after which proceeded to attack, researcher Alfredo Lopez Fernandezbiologist from the University of Aveiro in Portugal, said lifescience.com.
“This traumatic killer whale is the one which began this physical contact with the boat,” said López Fernandez.
“Orcs do that on purpose, after all we do not know the source or motivation, but trauma-based defensive behavior because the source of all that is getting stronger for us on daily basis,” he added.
During one in all the attacks on May 4, three killer whales began ramming a yacht sailing in the Strait of Gibraltar – and according to Captain Werner Schaufelberger, the incident was a family affair. German Yacht website.
“There have been two smaller killer whales and one larger killer whale … The small ones shook the rudder on the rear, while the massive one repeatedly backed up and rammed the ship with full force from the side,” said Schaufelberger. “Two small killer whales watched the strategy of the larger one and after a slight run additionally they hit the boat.” he added.
The crew had to be rescued by the Spanish Coast Guard while the boat was eventually towed to port and later sunk.
In one other incident earlier this month, a flock of six killer whales followed a sailboat in the strait. Passenger Greg Blackburn, told 9news that the mother whale seemed to be teaching her calf the boat-ramming technique.
“You possibly can see in one in all the videos the matriarch comes up and attacks the helm together with her calf by her side, then she steps back after which a little bit calf comes in to try,” he said. “It was definitely some type of education, ongoing teaching.”
Although killer whales aren’t dangerous to humans, killer whale attacks from boats have change into more common in Spanish waters in recent years, according to a June 2022 study published in the journal The science of marine mammals.
Between July and October 2020, there have been no less than 40 incidents with orcas involving sailing boats in the vicinity of Spain and Portugal, the Maritime Office reported.