FIN-VESTIGATED
Boat-sinking killer whales aren’t ‘motivated by revenge’ as scientists give new reason for violent orca attacks
Sailors have been warned against using firecrackers or electrocuting the mammals
KILLER whales are not destroying boats in bizarre acts of revenge against mariners, scientists have announced.
A new study has revealed the real reason for their puzzling recent behavior - sinking six vessels in the past few years.
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"At least 673 Iberian killer whale interactions have been documented since the first was reported in May 2020," said a co-sponsored by the Spanish and Portuguese governments.
Following an extensive workshop probing the latest evidence, scientists concluded in their May findings that the Orcas' interactions are not a sign of out-of-control aggression.
Instead, the killer whales - which have distinctive black and white markings and are actually the largest member of the dolphin family - are merely "playing and socializing."
In other words, they are just bored teenagers having a bit of fun, reported .
The researchers have probed complaints about the orcas ramming rudders, often damaging and even breaking them, rendering the vessels unnavigable.
NEARLY KILLED
In one terrifying encounter, British tourists sailing off the coast of Morocco feared for their lives when a pod of rogue killer whales tried to sink their boat in an hour-long ramming attack.
An international workshop, involving killer whale scientists and management authorities, was held in Madrid, Spain, in early February 2024 to solve the puzzling behavior.
"Since 2021, interactions have resulted in the sinking of six vessels —four sailboats and two fishing boats," said the report.
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"These interactions appear to be solely attributable to the small Iberian population of killer whales."
But, as Iberian killer whales are critically endangered, the researchers urged sailors against trying to scare them off or kill them, for example by using firecrackers, flares, or electrocution.
FINED
In New Zealand, a "stupid" adrenaline junkie was filmed in February "body slamming" a killer whale.
The 50-year-old man was later fined NZ $600 by the for showing a "shocking and stupid attitude to protected marine mammals."
The joint workshop said that most of the damaged boats were sailboats - and there appears to be a core group of just 15 orcas regularly involved in the interactions.
"With bluefin recovery, perhaps these whales, especially the juveniles, have more leisure to explore novel behaviors," the report said.
"Incentive for this risky behavior may be high when fishing lines have caught large, high-fat-content prey.
"The whales target all types of rudders, including metal ones, which in some cases they have bent."
JUST PLAYING
"Killer whales are known to play with other objects or animals in their environment to the point of damaging them, so this behavior seems on that spectrum," it continued.
"In the southern resident killer whale population of Washington, USA, which feed on salmon, individuals will ‘play’ with harbor porpoises to the point of killing them, which may be a similar escalation of an initially less harmful interaction."
The workshop recommended that, in the event of an encounter, mariners move away from the whales as quickly as possible.
Ideally, this should be at least 2 to 3 km (about 1 to 2 miles) from the area in which the whales were seen, either toward the coast, in the Gulf of Cádiz and Strait of Gibraltar, or toward an area where rescue can be expedited.
These interactions appear to be solely attributable to the small Iberian population of killer whales.
Joint report
Also, trials are underway to determine how best - and safely for whales and sailors - the orcas can be deterred from such interactions with humans.
Acoustic deterrents were dismissed as they could startle herd animals toward shore - where they could become stranded and die a slow death.
Practical maps have been published that show sailors the areas they could most likely run into killer whales.
Heat maps have been generated using satellite tagging and mariner reporting of whale locations in the Gibraltar Strait.
And the Portuguese Navy is issuing navigational warnings that killer whales are present in an area.
ORCAS - HOW DANGEROUS ARE THEY?
ORCAS - also known as killer whales - are the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family.
The creatures are dubbed "killer whales" as they hunt and eat other smaller species of dolphin.
Some also feed exclusively on fish, while others hunt marine mammals like seals and other dolphins.
They're known as apex predators meaning they're at the top of the food chain and no other animals feed on them.
There are no recorded incidents of orcas attacking humans before the bizarre boat-bashings, but they have been known to feast on other land-dwelling mammals like moose who swim between islands.
There is also research into adding conical protuberances of 1.5cm on the hull and keel of sailboats.
"The whales typically ram the rudders at the base of the blade," the researchers said.
"The hypothesis is that these protuberances would alter the whales’ perception of the rudder and thus their behavior toward boats, eventually extinguishing these interactions.
"Preliminary results are promising.
"The measures presented seek to balance mariner safety with
protecting the whales from harm, promoting coexistence."
NOT ANGRY
Ultimately, scientists want this report to spread awareness that the orcas aren't being malicious in nature.
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"They don't understand that they can damage the rudder and that damaging the rudder will affect human beings," said co-author Alex Zerbini, a senior research scientist at the University of Washington.
"There's nothing in the behavior of the animals that suggests that they're being aggressive," Zerbini told .
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