The captain of a boat that has twice been attacked by killer whales in the Strait of Gibraltar, believes that the orcas are calculated, and know ‘exactly what they’re doing’. Check it out - do you reckon they're deliberately attacking the boats?
The idea of an orca attacking anything is a pretty scary one, given that they’re the genuine apex predators of the ocean, with even the great white shark considered prey to some.
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In recent times, there has been an increase in reports that a orcas in this particular area between Spain and Morocco are attacking boats, which is absolutely terrifying.
Dan Kriz has seen a boat that he was on attacked by the orcas – which despite being nicknamed killer whales are actually large dolphins – on two occasions.
The first time was back in 2020 as they were escorting a yacht through the strait, where Kriz experienced first-hand the ‘very unusual behaviour’ of the sea mammals.
On this occasion, the boat’s rudder was so damaged that they had to get a tow to a nearby marina.
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He explained: "I was surrounded with a pack of eight orcas, pushing the boat around for about an hour.”
Then, another incident took place, this time not far from the Canary Islands.
Kriz said that he first thought it was a wave that hit the boat, but quickly realised that it was orcas again, attacking the underside of the vessel.
He told Newsweek: "My first reaction was, 'Please! Not again,'
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"There is not much one can do.
“They are very powerful and smart."
In a video clip, an orca can be seen ‘biting off both rudders’ of the boats.
Sure enough, it shows one of the creatures swimming off with a bit of boat.
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The second time, Kriz reckons they’d honed their technique a bit more and seemed to know exactly how to disable the craft, working together to stop the boat continuing on.
He explained: "First time, we could hear them communicating under the boat,
"This [second] time, they were quiet, and it didn't take them that long to destroy both rudders.
“Looks like they knew exactly what they are doing.
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“They didn't touch anything else."
That second attack lasted 15 minutes, but as the boat made an escape, another orca came back.
"Suddenly, one big adult orca started chasing us,” Kriz continued.
“In a couple of minutes, she was under the boat, and that was when we realized there was still a little piece of fiberglass left and she wanted to finish the job,
"After that, we didn't see them anymore."
These aren’t isolated incidents, either.
Research group GTOA has reported that incidents have tripled between 2020 and 2022.
Expert, Jeff Corwin, told CBS News that this just serves to highlight ‘the incredible intelligence’ of the orcas.
"What we're seeing is adapted behavior. We're learning about how they actually learn from their environment and then take those skill sets and share them and teach them to other whales," he said.
But why?
Well, there are two theories.
One is that the orcas are playing or doing a ‘sport’ of some kind, whereas another suggests that it could be the result of a ‘negative experience, [or] a traumatic event’ like a boat strike injuring a whale.
However, even those in the know aren’t sure.
Andrew Trites, professor and director of Marine Mammal Research at the University of British Columbia, said: "Nobody knows why this is happening,
"My idea, or what anyone would give you, is informed speculation. It is a total mystery, unprecedented."
Topics: World News, Weird, Animals, Environment