Since 2020 there have been hundreds of incidents involving orcas (so-called killer whales) and boats. Some people have characterized these encounters as "orca attacks." Most of them have happened in the waters off the Iberian Peninsula, especially in and around the Strait of Gibraltar, a waterway between Spain and Morocco.
In some cases orcas damaged boats by repeatedly ramming them and even breaking off their rudders, the boat's steering apparatus. People have been terribly frightened and, understandably, felt under attack. However, the fact remains that orcas in the wild have never attacked directly (much less eaten) humans. It is much more often the case that humans hurt orcas through accidental ship collisions, entangling them in abandoned fishing gear, or through acoustic damage caused by navy ships, explosions, or underwater mining operations.
Some commentators have sided with the orcas and others show more sympathy for the boats that they sometimes target. A recent article in the Atlantic by Jacob Stern has the ridiculous title “Killer Whales Are Not Our Friends: Stop rooting for orcas ramming boats.” While a Washington Post editorial, looking at the matter more from the whale's perspective, has the title "Why are orcas attacking boats? Hint: It’s not a war on humans.
The recent behavior of the orcas is unusual and seems to be something new. Scientists haven't found the reason for it but there are some theories. One theory is that after an orca that scientists called "White Gladis" was accidentally injured by a ship, she taught juvenile orca to attack every ship they came across. This theory isn't favored by marine biologists who study orca in depth. They think it's more likely that the orca are exhibiting playful behavior.
Deborah Giles, the research director for the NPO Wild Orca, has noted that orca sometimes engage in short-lived "fads," like moving the anchors of crab pots, hitching rides with larger whales, swimming around with salmon on their heads, or, perhaps most recently, messing around with boats around the Iberian Peninsula. Deborah Giles believes that the orca will eventually get bored interfering with boats and move on to doing some other naughty behavior.
Hopefully, those sailing boats through their waters will not try to get revenge on the orca. A simple way to stop attacks by the orca seems to be just stopping the boat's engine. Could it be that they are irritated by the engines of boats and want to send us a message, "We've had it with your noisy boats!"
Neiwert, D. (2023, June 19). Why are orcas attacking boats? Hint: It’s not a war on humans. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/19/orca-attacks-sinking-boats-science/
O’Kane, C. (2023, May 26). Killer whales are ramming into boats and damaging them. The reason remains a mystery. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/killer-whales-attacking-boats-damaging-spain-portugal-reason/
Stern, J. (2023b, June 17). Killer Whales Are Not Our Friends. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2023/06/orca-killer-whale-attacking-boats/674438/
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