Orcas attack boats in the open sea. These incidents are piling up. Killer whales apparently mimic this aggressive behavior, researchers suspect.
Gibraltar – Off the coast of Spain, spooky scenes were playing out at sea: a group of three orcas (Orcinus orca) specifically attacks a boat – in the middle of the night. At the last second she could Crew of a sailing yacht in early May be saved. “The attacks were brutal,” eyewitnesses say. A traumatized female orca could be responsible for the numerous attacks on boats, experts say.
Killer whale attack on boats: Traumatized female orca “White Gladis” could play a role
Reports of incidents involving aggressive orcas began to pile up in 2020. However, they were often mild. It started with young animals ramming the hulls of smaller yachts and damaging rudders. At the time, Portuguese maritime authorities attributed the attacks to the “curious behavior of young orcas,” which were attracted to moving structures on ships such as oars or propellers. sailors was in a communication recommended to stop the engine and lock the rudder in case of sighting of these mammals.
Orca attacks in the Strait of Gibraltar: Phenomenon is expanding
Now the pattern of behavior in the orca population is expanding, as shown on the website orcaiberica.org is to be experienced. The platform collects data about interactions with orcas. That’s it Atlantic Orca Working Group (GTOA) is concerned not only with safety for sailors in the Strait of Gibraltar but also with the protection of killer whales in the north-east Atlantic. A subpopulation of fewer than 50 adult animals lives off the Iberian Peninsula IUCN Red List classified as critically endangered.
Aggressive behavior of orcas is completely unknown so far
The increase in aggression towards boats is a new phenomenon, said biologist López Fernandez of University of Aveiro in Portugal too livescience.com. According to experts, there is increasing evidence that a traumatized female orca named “White Gladis” (officially: Gladis Blanca GB) is behind this unusual behavior.
“White Gladis” is an adult female and one of the “most active Gladis”. She has two daughters (born 2015 and 2021), according to the GTOA, who also “interact.” An orca is considered a so-called gladis when it interacts with ships, according to GTOA. The name therefore comes from the local term “Orca Gladiator” and was now used to identify the specimens.
“White Gladis”: Killer whales mimic the behavior of traumatized female orcas
Other killer whales would mimic their behavior. Researchers suspect that “White Gladis” may have experienced a “critical moment of agony,” such as being hit by a boat or caught in an illegal fishing trap. This event may have traumatized the female orca and caused her to ram other boats.
“The orcas do it on purpose, of course we don’t know the origin or the motivation,” Fernandez said. But it is becoming clearer every day that there is trauma behind this defensive behavior. The unusual behavior — ramming boats — has spread to the boys through imitation because they think it’s something important in their lives, López Fernandez said. “This traumatized orca is the one who initiated this behavior of physical contact with the boat.”
Iberian Killer Whale: Orcas are actually sociable mammals
Orcas are social creatures that can easily learn and imitate behaviors from others. Research teams have already found out in studies that the mammals live in stable social structures on which their survival depends. Recently, footage even showed a female orca adopting a baby pilot whale.
There are also researchers who refer to the behavior as a “fad”. “They’re incredibly curious and playful animals, so it could be more of a gimmick than an aggressive act,” said Deborah Giles, an orca researcher at the University of Washington.
An unusual natural spectacle is happening in the Pacific off the coast of the USA. One Group of orcas attack adult gray whales. A video shows unbelievable scenes. (ml)
The greater killer whale – also known as the killer whale – kept running and rammed the sailor with full force. According to the skipper, two smaller ones shook the rudder at the back. Behind the aggressive behavior of the orcas
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