Scientists reveal why killer whales keep attacking boats off the coast

31 May 2024 , 11:04

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Scientists reveal why killer whales keep attacking boats off the coast

Scientists think they have finally found out why killer whales keep attacking boats off the coast - and it can all be down to a craze.

Numerous videos have emerged online of orcas randomly ramming into vessels and sinking them in the Strait of Gibraltar. The bizarre act has left experts baffled, with some questioning whether the animals are teaching each other to attack boats. Since May 2020, experts have reported almost 700 incidents near the Iberian Peninsula. Theories have since flooded the internet which included orcas viewing boats as competition or food scarcity.

However, top marine biologist Alex Zerbini, chair of the scientific committee at the International Whaling Commission (IWC), suspects the behaviour is most likely to be a new “cultural tradition”. He explained: “Different populations often have distinct dietary specialisations maintained by cultural transmission, and these ‘ecotypes’ typically have a variety of persistent behavioural traditions related to their divergent foraging.

Orcas have been spotted displaying the behaviours off the coast (Getty Images)

"Some populations may also develop unusual and temporary behavioural ‘fads’ and other idiosyncrasies that do not appear to serve any obvious adaptive purpose.” Researchers noted that over the years, killer whales in the South Pacific have displayed several bizarre acts which seem to come and go, just like a trend. In 1987, the species began to carry dead salmon on their heads, for no reason. The behaviour then stopped and started up again in the summer of 2008, reports Independent.

In other instances, pairs of teenage and adult male orcas were documented carrying out a ritualised ramming or butting of their heads over a 20-year span. They eventually stopped. Dr Zerbini told The Washington Post: "There’s nothing in the behaviour of the animals that suggests that they’re being aggressive. Not all interactions have ended in vessel damage."

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The attacks keep happening near Gibraltar (Getty Images/Westend61)

He further explained that the species could be unaware that they are having a huge impact on vessels and said it could be "more playful than intentional". He added: “As they play with the rudder, they don’t understand that they can damage the rudder and that damaging the rudder will affect human beings. It’s more playful than intentional. It may be that the current fixation of Iberian killer whales with boats, and particularly their rudders, is such an ephemeral fad and that, should it suddenly cease, it might reappear at a later date.”

Monica Charsley