- Mysterious orca attacks: "Wow, what a giant beast!"
Idyllic Boat Trip in the Mediterranean Turns into Nightmare for Spanish Family
A leisurely boat ride in the Mediterranean turned into a horror show for a Spanish family in just seconds. Several orcas suddenly surrounded the sailboat and tore off a large piece of the rudder, which was over two meters long. "I don't know if these whales were just playing or what, but when you're attacked by an eight-meter-long, multi-ton creature that can sink its teeth into aluminum, you get scared," the boat owner recently told the Spanish newspaper "El Mundo". The family's planned sailing holiday ended abruptly - but the attacks continued.
The last major incident occurred as recently as July 24 off the coast of Tarifa, at the Strait of Gibraltar. The sailboat "Bonhomme William" immediately sent a distress signal, but by the time Spanish rescue forces arrived, it was already half submerged. The three occupants - two Britons and an Italian - were rescued in time. "The three rescued are safe on land, the sailboat is sinking," the Spanish maritime rescue service reported on Twitter.
Such incidents - researchers prefer to call them interactions and assume that the killer whales are not acting aggressively - were unknown until a few years ago. The first cases were reported in the pandemic year 2020 and were often recorded on video. On these videos, one can hear the cries of surprised sailors: "Wow, what a big beast!", "You bastard!" and "He got us!".
The orcas, which can grow up to ten meters long and weigh over five tons, are the largest species in the dolphin family and have been known to the general public since the film series "Free Willy". They eat tuna, herring, seals, penguins, and seabirds, and also attack sharks, dolphins, and other whales. However, until 2020, they had not targeted boats.
This year, several boats have been completely destroyed
Various measures taken by Spanish authorities, such as bans on smaller boats in certain sea zones and GPS trackers to locate orcas and warn captains, have so far had little success. According to the organization "GT Atlantic Orca" (GTAO), there have been 84 interactions off the coasts of Spain and Portugal this year by the end of June. Six boats were so severely damaged that they had to be towed. The numbers are slightly higher than the average for the years 2021 to 2023 in the same period.
"The most encounters are still registered at the Strait of Gibraltar or nearby," GTAO biologist Alfredo López told the German Press Agency. The area between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic is popular with Iberian orcas because that's where their favorite food, tuna, is abundant.
The phenomenon is reminiscent of Frank Schätzing's bestseller "The Swarm", in which nature rebels against humanity. Spanish media report increasing fear - especially among owners of luxury boats who no longer dare to venture onto the open sea and often only enjoy their expensive vehicles in the marina. More and more sailors and even local fishermen are demanding "solutions" and compensation for lost income from the authorities.
Why only off the coasts of southwestern Europe?
The incidents puzzle researchers. Although orcas live worldwide, only those in the Iberian region have shown this mysterious behavior so far. Of the 34 individuals registered there, only 16 interact with boats, according to GTOA. They almost always do so together in a group, López said. There are three females and 13 young ones.
Why only these 16? Why only in the Strait of Gibraltar and partly also in the western Mediterranean, off the coast of Portugal and further north in the Atlantic off the north coast of Spain and the west coast of France? Researchers admit that they still do not have secure answers to these questions.
López has two hypotheses: Either the highly intelligent animals have simply invented something new - similar to those orcas that in the 1980s balanced dead salmon on their heads in the North Pacific. "In the group, they imitate each other." Or they are reacting to a negative experience, such as getting entangled in a fishing net or colliding with a boat.
Have killer whales simply too much "free time" due to fishing bans?
Boredom could also potentially play a role. In a study from June, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) suspects that orcas attack boats because there is plenty of tuna due to fishing bans. Since they spend less time searching for food, they would have more "free time" and "play" with the ships, it was said.
How much this phenomenon occupies sailors, authorities, media, and researchers is shown by the many studies and actions - also by environmentalists. The Spanish organization "Ecologistas en Acción" started in July with a sailing ship and up to 60 alternating activists and researchers a months-long observation trip to get to the bottom of the mystery.
But for them, the well-being of the orcas is not in the foreground, but the welfare of the orcas. These are listed as endangered species on the Red List of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and are particularly threatened in the Strait of Gibraltar by climate change, water pollution, increasing maritime traffic, and noise, according to the organization.
More and more hatred is directed against the orcas - on the boats and on the net
All experts agree that one should not demonize the animals. Headlines like "Uprising of the orcas" distort reality, complains López. He has the impression that the animals are increasingly met with hatred by ship crews, but also on the internet. Videos show how boat crews shoot at orcas with flares, among other things.
To avoid escalation, the Spaniard refers to information on the website of his organization. Captains should better inform themselves, choose alternative routes, not drive at night, and not go too far from the coast.
Meanwhile, there is hope that the problem could disappear by itself: Some experts suspect a temporary trend that could soon end - like the salmon balancing in the 1980s. López sees indications for this: "Compared to 2023, the number of interactions this year is decreasing."
The family's sailboat was made of a material other than iron or steel, as they were not affected by the orca's teeth that can sink into aluminum. Despite the incidents, research suggests that orcas are not necessarily acting aggressively towards boats, but rather interacting out of curiosity or boredom due to fishing bans.
