Sailors off the coast of Galicia, Spain, were terrified. First, they heard a deep, resonant thud against the hull. Then another, and another. Below them, in the murky, emerald waters, a shadow moved. They watched as a 23-foot (7-meter) killer whale destroyed the ship’s rudder. After the mission was complete, the orca (and a smaller “wingman” one) continued to take turns hitting the ship, even as a rescue tugboat towed it to safety.
“We completely freaked out,” said boat owner Valentín Otero, who had been sailing near O Grove when the blows started. “The truth is, we were very frightened.”
Who wouldn’t have been?
But that’s even more curious is that this has happened before, more than a few times. This was just the latest chapter in a strange, ongoing saga that has been playing out in the waters off the coasts of Spain and Portugal since 2020. Orcas, these magnificent, apex predators of the sea, have developed a baffling behavior: they are targeting boats, specifically their rudders, and destroying them.
The attacks are not isolated to a single pod, and seem to have spread through a specific and endangered population. But why are they doing it, and what does this mean for us (and for them)?
A Bizarre Habit
Orcas are some of the smartest creatures on the planet. They’re organized, social, and show clear signs of having a culture. They’re also the absolute apex predators of the oceans, so dominant that they’ll even toy with great white sharks and eat their livers.
It’s unlikely that they’d start something randomly.
Between 2020 and 2023, there were approximately 500 recorded attacks by orcas on vessels, and the frequency is increasing over time. No humans have ever been harmed during the interactions, but 20% of the vessels were damaged, and several ships were incapacitated.
This seemed to have slowed down a bit, but is now picking up again. The Pontevedra Civil Guard, a Spanish law enforcement agency, recently shared a video and wrote that the orcas had attacked several sailboats.
Why Are They Doing This?
There’s no definitive answer as to why orcas are doing this but there are some clues.
It all started with a small group of killer whales, a subpopulation of the Iberian orcas. They are a critically endangered population, with fewer than 40 individuals in their entire group. This small number makes their unique behavior even more significant. It’s an aural, generational thing, passed down, taught, and learned.
The behavior began with just a few young orcas. Now, it appears to be a widespread trend within the pod. Scientists believe the culprits are often the young, adolescent orcas, the teenagers of the sea. Like human teenagers, they are full of energy and seemingly not afraid to try out new things.
This suggests that the behavior may not actually be that aggressive.
The interactions could be playful, a result of the marine mammals’ natural curiosity. They seem to usually attack the rudder, which they have observed will make the ship immobile, which gives them more observation and play time.
This idea would fit with something else that’s been happening to orcas (and surprisingly, it’s a good thing).
Free Time and Culture
The Iberian orcas specialize in hunting Atlantic bluefin tuna, a fast, powerful, and historically overfished species. In recent years, thanks to conservation efforts, the bluefin tuna population in the region has recovered. This is great news for the tuna, and great news for the orcas, as it made hunting much easier for them. They have more free time and more time to try out new things. For a young, intelligent, and curious orca, interacting with a ship may be an irresistible challenge.
But it could also be an aggressive attack. Orcas could have been injured by boats, and passed this information to others, identifying boats as a danger. Orcas know that attacking the tail of an animal can render the animal immobile, and may be doing the same thing to boats, destroying their rudders. This could be a form of revenge for sustained damage or damage prevention.
Lastly, the behavior could also be linked to a cultural fad.
This concept of “cultural fads” among orcas is not new. Orcas are incredibly social, with complex cultures that vary from pod to pod. They have their own dialects, unique vocalizations that act like a language, passed down through generations. They have been observed engaging in intricate social rituals, from rubbing their bodies together in what looks like a playful mosh pit, to gently mouthing each other’s tongues. Orcas also have a history of developing bizarre, temporary behaviors that have no clear purpose. One famous example is the “salmon hat” fad, where a pod of orcas in the Pacific Northwest started swimming around with dead salmon on their heads, a behavior that seemed to serve no purpose other than to be… a thing. They did it for a while, and then they stopped.
What Should Sailor Do?
The fact that orcas seem to be uninterested in harming people is encouraging. But they could do it by accident, or they could just do it to push things further.
The official advice from maritime authorities and scientists is counterintuitive. Don’t speed away; that makes it a chase, which can be more exciting for the orcas. Don’t yell or try to fight them off; that can be seen as an engagement. The recommended protocol is to stop. Take down the sails, turn off the engine, and let the wheel run free.
In essence, you become a terrible playmate. By showing the orcas that the boat is a dull and uninteresting object, the hope is that they will lose interest and move on. Because let’s face it, if you’re on a small boat and an orca wants to mess with you, it’s gonna mess with you.
Their actions, whatever the motivation, serve as a powerful and humbling reminder that we are not the only thinkers, the only strategists, or the only cultures in the sea. We are merely the ones who live on the surface, often oblivious to the complex societies that thrive just beneath the waves. The orcas are now making it impossible to ignore them.
