Playful Orcas in Atlantic Engage in Dangerous Game by Targeting Small Boats, Expert Says

Orcas copy how elders behave. According to a new report, killer whales attack smaller boats because they witness how adults play with them and follow the behavior.

Orcas Play With Small Boats

According to researchers, at least 20 Iberian orcas have now picked up the behavior of playing with boats by imitating their seniors. In 2020, one or two orcas were thought to have begun interacting with and harming small sailing vessels.

The experts, however, noted that rather than acting aggressively, the animals seem to be "playing" with the boats, BBC reported.

Dr. Renaud de Stephanis, a scientist based on the south coast of Spain, stressed that the action is only a game for the orcas. He insisted that the killer whales only played and did not retaliate against boats. He added that the behavior had nothing to do with climate change either.

Dr. de Stephanis is the leader of the marine conservation group Conservation, Information, and Research on Cetaceans (CIRCE). He claimed that the killer whales, also known as orcas, appeared to be engaged in a "game" centered around the boats' rudders, which are moveable steering device that floats in the water.

Two of the group's less than 60 animals have now had satellite monitoring tags attached to their fins by him and his colleagues. This population is highly threatened.

The Spanish government uses maps of their movements to help ships avoid these marine creatures, which seek tuna off the coasts of Portugal and Spain and across the constricting Strait of Gibraltar.

Lou Lombardi, a French sailor, had his close encounter with orcas in July near Gibraltar. According to him, five of the orcas pushed and twisted his boat around for 80 minutes, slamming the rudder until it broke apart, as he and the rest of the crew watched.

He told BBC that the orcas were rather playful than aggressive. He speculated that they were training each other, with the adult doing it first and then watching the calf do the same.

Meanwhile, marine biologist Monica Gonzalez, who works with the group Orca Iberica, which records and maps orca sightings reported by sailing vessels, noticed a difference between the young and elder orcas. According to her, the adults are extremely narrowly focused on the rudder and nothing else. However, the juveniles' behavior is extremely different as they explore the boat.

Killer Whales Sinking Boats Not Adaptive Habit

In a previous report from Science Times, Dr. Luke Rendell, who studies marine mammals' behavior, learning, and communication at the University of St. Andrews, shared his thoughts about the orcas sinking boats or yachts. He wasn't sure why they did it, but he was more inclined to believe it was a temporary fad.

There is no proof, but it's possible that convincing sea lions that you are a fellow sea lion rather than a vicious predator has adaptive benefits, he claimed. The actions span from one group loudly imitating sea lions to another carrying dead salmon on their heads, which he noted as a passing trend.

Rendell added that the beginning and spread of these boat attacks now fit the characteristics of a "temporary fad." However, he was unsure of how long it would last.

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