Scientists get close, but, not quite
Killer whales keep attacking and sinking boats. Scientists now know why, study says.
For the last five years, killer whales have been ramming – and in some cases sinking – expensive yachts, fishing boats and motorboats in the crystalline waters off the coast of Spain, Portugal, France and Morocco.
Why has been a mystery – until recently.
A multinational group of orca experts that met in February and were sponsored by the governments of Spain and Portugal has released a report outlining why they think it’s happening and what can be done to stop it.
What originally appeared to be attacks on more than 673 boats since 2020 now seem more likely to be a bunch of bored teenage orcas looking for something to do, said cetacean expert Alexandre Zerbini. Essentially, the whales started a fad of playing with boat rudders. (snip)
This group of orcas interacts with the the vessels because they are being enriched by the experience, said Renaud de Stephanis, president of CIRCE (Conservación, Información y Estudio sobre Cetáceos), an organization dedicated to preserving marine life. De Stephanis has been studying orca behavior for over 25 years and was also at the gathering of scientists in Madrid.
“The sea is a very boring place for an animal,” said de Stephanis. “Imagine if you’re a dog or some other mammal, you can interact with objects around you. But in the sea there’s not much for the orcas to interact with, so they play with the rudders.”
This is not a satire piece, like you’d get from Hard Times or The Babylon Bee (or The Onion years ago). This is real. There are real articles about an orca named Gladis leading a gang who beat up on ships.
I can confirm that Gladis, the orca leader sinking boats, is an unusual whale. pic.twitter.com/l4WGMqBWeE
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) May 26, 2023
But, are they right? Or, could it be something more nefarious
Did you see that in the paper the other day about those carp in the Mississippi River jumping into boats and bonking fisherman in the head? It’s true. They’re called big head carp, they’re from Asia and they’re attacking and severely injuring many fisherman.
Biologists claim the roar of boat motors agitates and excites these carp and they jump towards the sound but I think these biologists are naively missing an obvious connection. Fish are attacking fisherman. For the fish it’s get them before they get you, kill or be killed. Even if these fisherman are practicing catch and release, that’s a very painful, embarrassing experience for any fish and apparently they have had it.
What about the increase in mountain lion attacks? Great White sharks moving closer to shore? Moose have been showing up in towns and stomping on people. A squirrel was in my living room last spring. Am I the only one that sees a pattern here? People, wise up! The other animals are against us. It doesn’t take a genius to see there’s an inter-species conspiracy to thwart the urban expansion of man……. (read the whole thing)
They hate us. Squirrels are involved in surveillance. Animals bite, sting, and scratch us. They damage our homes. How do killer whales fit in? Well, they’re involved in direct action, vandalism, scaring us from the high seas.
Read: Scientists Say They Know Why Killer Whales Keep Sinking Boats. They’re Wrong »