In recent days, orcas have been continuously attacking sailing boats in the waters near the Iberian Peninsula (Mediterranean region), yet no one knows the reason why.
On May 2, Greg Blackburn, a sailor, thought his boat was encountering rough waves while passing through the Strait of Gibraltar, near Morocco. However, as the jolts persisted and the steering wheel seemed unresponsive to his commands, Blackburn looked down and saw a massive black creature underwater, with its characteristic oval shape and white belly.
A pod of orcas swimming near a boat. (Photo: Getty Image).
It turned out that two orcas were repeatedly ramming into the boat, soon joined by two more.
Researchers have collaborated and recorded over 200 reports of incidents involving orcas, in which these animals approached or collided with vessels along the coastline of the Iberian Peninsula, particularly in the waters of Spain and Portugal, from 2020 to the present.
In 2020, the media reported a series of aggressive behaviors from orcas in this region. At that time, scientists proposed several theories that these animals might act out of curiosity, playfulness, or as a way to assert territorial claims in their living waters.
The attacks by orcas can be dangerous and may sink boats.
An orca in the Northwest Pacific Ocean. (Photo: Monika Wieland Shields/Shutterstock).
According to reports, a pair of orcas caused multiple attacks in July 2022 when their pod targeted a sailing boat off the coast of Portugal and just hours later attacked another vessel in the same area.
The first incident was described by local media as “much worse than normal”, where the orcas rammed into a boat carrying five people about 11 kilometers from the coast of Sines, Portugal.
While the attacks from orcas sometimes damage sailing vessels, the situation was more perilous for this boat carrying five people, as it began to sink due to taking on water. They had to radio for help and used life rafts to continue, later being rescued by a fishing boat.
A few hours later, another orca unusually attacked a different boat nearby that was en route from Lisbon to Algarve. There were two people on board, and at the time of the attack, they were asleep.
According to locals, these orcas can grow up to 8 meters in length, ramming the boat and biting the rudder, rendering it inoperable. The boat was eventually towed back to port.
Currently, researchers have not been able to precisely explain this unusual phenomenon.
