Killer whale gang ‘instructing one another to intentionally bash boats’ over grudge

A gang of killer whales that have been attacking boats in the Strait of Gibraltar could be harbouring a grudge against sailors.

The pod that have been to blame for a string of terrifying attacks off the Spanish coast “know exactly what they are doing and why.” The attacks could have stemmed from one orca’s “negative experience” that could have been communicated to the others,” an expert has said.

It comes as some people suggested they are trying to “eat the rich” amid a “class war” after the giant beasts relentlessly pounded against a 50ft vessel last week, forcing the two crew members on board to be rescued by a passing oil tanker while their yacht sank.

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But Frankie Hobro, director of Anglesey Sea Zoo in North Wales belives the chilling encounters could be down to a number of factors.

Speaking exlusively to the Daily Star, she said: “These orcas are clearly showing some kind of recently acquired habitual or learned behaviour towards the boats, most likely due to a negative encounter or experience one or some of them have had, which has then been communicated to the others.

“It could be carried out in fun, frustration or simply curiosity, or a mixture of all three of these as orcas are incredibly intelligent and complex animals and there are many aspects of their interactions and behaviour that we don’t completely understand.

“We do know that in the wild orcas have been observed ‘playing’ with their food after catching prey, such as seals and baby whales, tossing it around between different members of the group and sometimes not even eating it once it has died

“So this kind of destructive playful behaviour is probably quite commonplace within orca pods and could be what is happening here, possibly combined with specifically targeting boats due to a disliking of them from a previous negative experience.”

An Iberian unit of around 40 orcas is believed to be dealing most of the damage and has been since 2020. They’ve now sent several boats to the bottom of the ocean.

And at least 16 separate orcas have attacked boats across the waters of the Spanish coastline, with attacks now sighted toward Biscay and the Portuguese waters.

Frankie said the attacks could turn out to be a “passing fad” or they could continue as the whales rove around different locations.

“These attacks are clearly targeting boats specifically and not humans so with due diligence, humans can avoid getting injured but may just have to accept that this behaviour has to be tolerated indefinitely and just do their best to mitigate against the damage and hassle it causes to the boats,” she added.

“Any attempts at prevention may result in a more targeted or aggressive behaviour from the orcas and it is absolutely essential that nothing is done that risks harm to these animals. We must remember that as humans on or in the water, we are visitors or users of the orca’s environment, a habitat that they are perfectly adapted thrive in – we as humans are not and we should respect that.”

Delving into the reasons for the sudden change in behaviour, Frankie said: “It is likely that the orcas have been teaching each other to deliberately bash boats. We know that orcas live in tight social groups comprising family members led by a matriarch (similarly to elephants).

“These group members have complex and efficient forms of communication, which allows them to hunt as a group. So the experience and behaviour of one orca will be passed on and replicated by others in the group, and several pod members will deliberately work together and assist one another.

“We may not understand the reason for this recent behaviour targeting boats but I can guarantee that every member of the orca pod knows exactly what they are doing and why.”

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