The biologist says retaliation may explain attacks by orcas, which sink boats

Scientists say attacks by orcas, which wrecked boats off the Iberian coast in the region of Spain, may have been motivated by revenge. Recently, at least three ships have been hit and wrecked by mammals.

At least three ships were hit and sunk by the mammals – Image: cloning / ND

information from UOL. In an interview with Live Science, marine biologist from the University of Aveiro, Alfredo López Fernández, states that the explanation may lie in the animals’ past trauma. According to him, most of the episodes were harmless, but it could all have started after a female orca had an accident with a boat that led her to attack other ships.

“Orcas do this on purpose, of course, we don’t know the origin or the motive, but the defensive behavior based on shock, being the origin of all this, is gaining more power for us every day,” Fernandez said.

Orcas are suspected in a video where the whale appears out of nowhere and attacks the boat with the fishermen

A video clip circulating on social media shows the attack of A whale Against a boat with fishermen. In the photos it is possible to see the boat circling in an area of ​​ice when the whale “appears out of nowhere” and throws itself onto the ship.

The fear is palpable and the hunters left the scene immediately, fortunately in this case alive.

Those who released the material put the identity of the authors of the attack on orcas, but it is very likely that it was another species: the bowhead whale. This hypothesis is highly credible due to the animal’s size and color pattern.

There have been no recorded attacks of killer whales on humans in the wild, only in captivity. But this video may indicate that they might be really good at getting away with killing humans. pic.twitter.com/3EUmGiQ5qj

– Macrodosing (MacrodosingPod) May 18, 2023