Orcas Damageโฃ yachts Off Spanishโฃ Coast in Renewed attacks
Gibraltar Strait – Killer whales have โonce again been implicated in attacks on yachts sailing near Spain, with two vessels reporting damage within minutes of โeach other in the area of Grove, within the Gibraltar Strait. The incidents, โreported by The Self-reliant, mark a continuation of a concerning trend that โคbegan in May โค2020 and has now involved over 500 reported encounters.
Thes โintentional interactions between orcas and boats are raising alarm among maritime โคauthorities โคand โexperts, who are struggling to โunderstand the cause of this โunusual behavior.โข While the immediate impact is limited toโค damage to vessels and potential risk to sailors, โtheโ incidents โhighlight โa potential shift in orca behavior and raise questions about the long-term โขconsequences for โboth the whales and maritime traffic in the region.
The captain ofโ the yachtโ Sanโ Pedro described experiencing “two powerful blows,” discovering afterward that the rudder had been severely damaged. “We felt two powerful blows, and โwhenโ we looked in the water,โ we saw two killer whales โฃand aโข completely destroyed rudder,” he stated.โฃ A crewโฃ member fromโข the second impacted vessel reported โคbeing “realy horrified” realizing the whales were intentionally striking the โขhull.
following the second โขattack,a water leak developed,prompting an urgent response from maritime rescue services,who towed both yachts toโ harbor.Authorities have increased monitoring of coastal waters โand are advising sailors toโ avoid areas where attacks have been reported.Recommendations include stopping vesselsโ promptly, turning off engines, and avoiding any displays of aggression when encountering orcas.
Leading naval biologist Alex Zerbini, chairman of the Scientific Committee of theโค International Whaling Committee, suggests the behavior may โคrepresent a “new โฃtradition” among the โwhalesโข or a “temporary strangeness” lacking a clear adaptive purpose. Theโฃ focusedโ targeting of steering โฃmechanisms demonstrates an unusual โขlevel of โcoordination, further deepening the mystery surrounding these incidents.