Why do orcas keep attacking boats?
Swordfish repeatedly attack boats off the coasts of Spain and Portugal. Known for their size and intelligence, experts are baffled by their behavior.
A leisurely sail in the Mediterranean turned into a nightmare for a Spanish family in just seconds. Several orcas suddenly surrounded their sailing ship 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 continue.
The last major incident occurred on July 24 off the coast of Tarifa, at the Strait of Gibraltar. The sailing boat "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 sailing boat is sinking," the Spanish maritime rescue service reported on X.
Such attacks - researchers prefer to call them interactions and assume that the swordfish do not act aggressively - were unknown until a few years ago. The first incidents were reported in the pandemic year 2020 and were often recorded on video. One can hear the surprised cries of 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. But until 2020, they had not targeted boats.
Several boats were completely destroyed this year as well
Various measures by Spanish authorities, such as bans on smaller boats in certain marine 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 were 84 interactions off the coasts of Spain and Portugal by the end of June this year. Six boats were so badly 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.
"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 their favorite food, tuna, is abundant there.
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 fishermen in the region are demanding "solutions" and compensation for lost income from the authorities.
The incidents have researchers puzzled. Despite orcas being found worldwide, only those in the Iberian region have shown this mysterious behavior. Out of the 34 individuals registered in the area, only 16 interact with boats, almost always together in a group. There are three females and 13 young ones, according to López.
Why only these 16? Why only in the Strait of Gibraltar and partly also in the western Mediterranean, off the coasts of Portugal and Spain's north coast and France's west coast? Researchers admit they don't have definitive answers to these questions yet.
López has two hypotheses: Either the highly intelligent animals have simply invented something new, similar to the orcas that balanced dead salmon on their heads in the North Pacific in the 1980s. "They mimic each other in the group." Or they are reacting to a negative experience, like getting entangled in a fishing net or colliding with a boat.
Are killer whales simply bored due to fishing bans?
Boredom might also play a role. A study from June suggests that orcas attack boats because there's plenty of tuna due to fishing bans, meaning they have more "leisure time" and "play" with ships.
The extent to which this phenomenon engages sailors, authorities, media, and researchers is evident in the many studies and actions, including those by environmentalists. The Spanish organization "Ecologistas en Acción" launched a months-long observation voyage in July with a sailboat and up to 60 alternating activists and researchers to get to the bottom of the mystery.
However, their primary concern is not the safety of sailors, but the well-being of the orcas. These are listed as endangered species by 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.
Anti-orca sentiment is on the rise
All experts agree that we should not demonize the animals. Headlines like "Orca Uprising" distort reality, López complains. He feels that the animals are increasingly facing hatred from ship crews and even on the internet. Videos show boat crews shooting at orcas with flares, among other things.
To avoid escalation, the Spaniard refers to information on his organization's website. Captains should educate themselves, choose alternative routes, avoid night travel, and not venture too far from the coast.
Meanwhile, there's hope that the problem might disappear on its own: Some experts suspect a temporary trend that could fade away, like the salmon balancing in the 1980s. López sees signs of this: "Compared to 2023, the number of interactions has decreased this year."
The Mediterranean Sea serves as a popular destination for orcas, as evidenced by the sailing boat "Bonhomme William" encountering them off the coast of Tarifa, at the Strait of Gibraltar. Several boats have been damaged or destroyed this year due to interactions with orcas, with researchers attributing these incidents to either a new behavior or a response to a negative experience.
