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By Johanna Gardener • Updated: 15 Oct 2024 • 15:28 • 2 minutes read
Killer whales interact with more boats than before Credit:X:@AndyVermaut
Recent killer whale attacks in Gibraltar are reopening studies into why these marine beasts are suddenly changing their behaviours around boats.
And it is not all part of killer whale playtime! The waters around Gibraltar have recently become a hotbed for orcas (killer whales) and scientists, sailors and the public have become increasingly bemused by their unusual interactions, which they consider to have an ulterior motive than purely playful interaction. According to reports, these cetaceans have been biting off a bit more than they can chew and new studies aim to delve deep into the motives behind such antics.
Reports reveal that between 2020 and 2024, there were 600 interactions between orcas and boats around specific coastal areas of Spain, Morocco and Portugal. The impacts of these interactions are not always gentle with vessels being severely mutilated by the creatures, leading to sunken boats or even large yachts in more serious cases. The Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute (BDRI) has started to counteract theories that this behaviour is playful, arguing that the animals might be participating in some novel form of training practice for hunting bluefin tuna. Suggestions around this hypothesis from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) revolve around the uncanny similarities between the western Atlantic bluefin tuna and boats. They are comparable in dimension and speed, as well as being similarly hydrodynamic, sleek and with a light-coloured underbelly.
Training practices to enhance hunting mastery are not uncommon for marine animals and can be likened to feline hunting development, as part of timeless, instinctive developmental stages progressing from observation and learning to survival. What appears as “play” in both felines and cetaceans ultimately serves to tailor motor skills and fine motor skills including precise movement and body angling in order to survive in the wild through successful catches. The BDRI study outlines that whilst on face value the interactions with boats seem playful, they actual reflect more serious training regimes inherent to more intelligent species. BDRI documented evidence states: “Play offers marine mammals the opportunity to develop and refine cognitive and physical skills.”
Prior explanations for these behaviours have, however, been diverse. Last year, there were theories around the rise-up of nature against humanity when trauma had been inflicted on one member of the killer whale pod by humans. Their high level of intelligence and empathy does make this a viable possibility. Luke Rendell of the University of St Andrews said “The spread of reaction to past trauma by one individual is plausible.” Scientists have been fascinated by the idea of nature fighting back in our current world, where humanity versus nature is a perpetual conflict. There have been accounts of attacks where vengeance for human mistreatment of killer whales has appeared to motivate more aggressive orca-boat interactions. Some skeptics have even suggested that the powerful sonar from military vehicles from recent conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, including submarines might be disorientating the creatures. Quite possibly they are expressing their predicament as they struggle to survive in a world where globalisation and world conflict are destroying habitats and depleting resources for many marine creatures.
One thing does remain clear. This huge mammal has been on earth for around 6 million years and continues to evolve. Yet their only existing predator to date is the human. Marine specialists conjecture that whilst one might consider these interactions to be “attacks”, it is important to scrutinize human behaviour. Are killer whales simply trying to defend themselves in a habitat no longer their own?
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Originally from Manchester, UK and with a degree in English with Modern Foreign Languages, she has been a permanent resident in Spain for the past 12 years. Many of these years, she has spent working as a secondary school teacher, as well as in journalism, editing and marketing. She currently lives in the historic centre of Malaga, where she enjoys writing, walking and animals.
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