Shocking footage has emerged of killer whales targeting two tourist boats in Portugal this weekend.
The pod of animals repeatedly rammed and sank a yacht full of tourists off the shores of Fonte Da Telha beach, while a second vessel further north near Cascais was also targeted.
Fortunately, all nine people on both ships were rescued by nearby tourist boats before official rescuers reached the scene.
But they join a long list of Orca incidents in recent years, with ships targeted in the Bay of Biscay, the Moroccan coast, the North Sea and more.
Now scientists are discovering why killer whales attack boats – and it turns out we may have misunderstood these highly intelligent creatures.
In fact, orcas are just playing.
Renaud de Stephanis, president of the Conservation, Information and Research on Cetaceans (CIRCE) in Spain, said the behavior was “playful, not aggressive.”
“What is happening to the Iberian orcas and the boats is not an attack in the sense of aggression, predation or territorial defense,” he told The Daily Mail.
The film shows,
This is the amazing moment a pod of killer whales got stuck in a tourist boat and caused it to sink in Portugal
“This interaction is closer to a game than an attack.
“They don’t mistake boats for prey, nor do they defend territory.”
Despite being often referred to as “killer whales,” Orcas are actually the largest member of the Dolphin family and are not whales at all.
These marine mammals are recognizable by their distinctive black-and-white bodies, white eye patches, and white bellies.
They are “extremely intelligent and playful animals,” the expert said, and their main interest in a situation like this is the bottom of the boat and the movable rudders.
“What we have documented in Gibraltar, the Gulf of Cádiz and Portugal is a play-like behavior developed by a small subpopulation of Orcas,” said Dr De Stepanis.
“They focus on the rudder of sailboats because it responds dynamically when they are pushed – it moves, vibrates and provides resistance.
“In other words, it stimulates them.”
Orcas are called “killer whales,” even though they are dolphins. The animals are the ocean’s apex predators and have been known to prey on a wide variety of species, including humpback and gray whale calves (Image courtesy of Orcas Collection)
In August, maritime rescue received an alert about several orcas interacting with the German hangar schooner Ávila north of Cíes, Spain.
Dr Clare Andvik, a marine mammal expert at the University of Oslo, agreed that these orcas “engage in playful behavior.”
She called this recent event in Portugal “very unfortunate” because it is the first time a boat has actually sunk after an interaction.
“It’s exciting and rewarding for them to play with the rudder of the boat – it’s a large object that extends into the water and moves when they hit it,” Dr. Andvik told The Daily Mail.
“What’s even more fun for them is if a person tries and steers the wheel as well, then they get a little resistance and it’s almost like a tug of war.
“Protams, no cilvēka viedokļa šāda veida izturēšanās nepavisam nav jautra, un viņiem tas nešķiet kā spēle, jo viņi tiek notriekti apkārt.
‘Un dažos gadījumos stūri var pilnībā sadalīt un likt laivai uzņemt ūdeni un galu galā nogrimt [which is] Jautri orkām, nevis cilvēkiem. ”
Pēc Dr De Stefanis un Circe teiktā, labākais padoms cilvēkiem Orcas, ja viņi pamana Orcas, ir “neapstāties”.
Tas faktiski ir pretrunā ar ieteikumiem, kas sniegti Portugālē, kur dažas iestādes iesaka laivām apstāties, kad parādās Orcas.
Orcas – pazīstams arī kā slepkavas vaļi – ir viens no atpazīstamākajiem jūras zīdītājiem ar to atšķirīgajiem melnbaltajiem ķermeņiem, balto acu plāksteriem un baltajiem vēderu
‘No zinātniskā viedokļa tas [advice from authorities] ir neproduktīvs, ”viņš stāstīja The Daily Mail.
‘Orcas interesē kinētiskā enerģija – tie mijiedarbojas ar kustīgiem objektiem. Ja laiva apstājas, stūre kļūst par “vieglu laupījumu”, un mijiedarbība var ilgt daudz ilgāk.
“Ja kuģis turpina kustēties, dinamika padara to mazāk interesantu un Orcas parasti zaudē interesi daudz ātrāk.
“Uzturiet kursu un ātrumu (pēc iespējas drošāk), un mijiedarbība parasti beigsies ātrāk.”
Tikmēr Dr Andviks iesaka jūrniekiem un kreiseriem nomest buras, “ieslēdzot motoru un brauciet pēc iespējas ātrāk krastā”, lai izvairītos no laivas bojājumiem.
Viņa arī ierosina uzturēties seklā ūdenī, kur Orcas ir mazāk ticams, un cenšas nevadīt stūri atpakaļ (“neiesaistieties” pieeja viņu lugai).
Orcas ir okeāna virsotnes plēsēji, un ir zināms, ka tie upuri visdažādākajām sugām, ieskaitot kuprīšu un pelēko vaļu teļus.
Medot lielāku laupījumu, Orcas veic savu upuri 35 jūdzes stundā, kā arī iekost tā miesu un bloķē tā blowhole, līdz tas galu galā noslīcina.
Attēlā ORCA stundu ilga uzbrukuma laikā pie Marokas krastiem, 2023. gadā.
Orcas pat mērķē un nogalina lielas baltas haizivis un zilos vaļus, lielākais dzīvnieks, kāds zināms, kāds jebkad pastāvējis.
Bet, ja cilvēki iekrita ūdenī, viņi, visticamāk, kļūs par Orca nākamo maltīti.
“Viņi ir arī ļoti inteliģenti un nemaldina cilvēkus kā laupījumu – viņi var pateikt, ka mēs neesam vaļu, zīmoga vai zivis,” sacīja Dr Andviks.
“Ja cilvēks nokristu ūdenī, kamēr orkas nogalinātu zilo vaļu, viņi nekļūdāsies ar laupījumu, bet, iespējams, galu galā tiks galā ar visām uzliesmojošajām spurām un šādā veidā nodarīta kaitējums, nonākot ceļā.”
