What's making the whales angry?

Orcinus orca 

While working the Ocean Cruising Club (OCC) pandemic response in the Atlantic, we had multiple reports of whales being struck by boats crossing from the Caribbean to Europe. One report, however,  was instead about whales attacking a boat. The yacht was transitting from Portugal to La Linea when orcas repeatedly rammed the vessel and spun it around 180 degrees. Every time they tried to resume course, they were rammed again, almost like the whales wanted them to leave. After the boat remained motionless for a period, the whales finally swam away. Although the sailors noted some damage to their steering, they were able to safely enter the port. Since then, numerous reports have appeared from the Straits of Gibraltar to the NW corner of Spain. Others weren't so lucky.

Scientists can’t explain why killer whales are interacting with sailboats off the coast of Galicia and Portugal. Researchers say it is very unusual for orcas to show aggressive behaviour and ram into boats. Noonsite reports that twenty-nine contacts with killer whales have been registered by sailboats in the coastal region of NW Spain between Ferrol and Ria de Ortigueira since August 10th. In an attempt to protect both sailors and orcas, a no-sailing zone has now been introduced.

Exclusion zone NW Spain

Crew members have reported feeling that they were 'under attack' and that the incidents seemed 'totally orchestrated'. Although scientists were initially adamant that the whales were 'just playing' and that they don't have the capacity to 'orchestrate' attacks, they are well known for coordinated attacks on tuna and seals. So why not sailboats?  And why sailboats but not fishing boats? 

Damaged rudder

In various accounts reported by The Guardian newspaper, two boats lost part of their rudders, at least one crew member was injured, and several boats were seriously damaged. The two boats with rudder damage had to be towed to safety. One boat approaching the Azores had rudder damage and sank, her skipper rescued by one of the vessels we were working with. 

s/v Matroos sank off the Azores

Similar activity has been reported in the Straits of Gibraltar. “The noise was really scary. They were ramming the keel, there was this horrible echo, I thought they could capsize the boat. And this deafening noise as they communicated, whistling to each other. It was so loud that we had to shout,” said Victoria Morris, a marine biology graduate student from New Zealand who was crew aboard a 46-foot vessel in the Gibraltar Strait when the orcas struck. She watched as bits of rudder floated off, disabling steering. They also disabled the engine leaving the vessel with no control in the busy Strait. 

Scientists speculate that the behaviour may indicate stress, not aggression, in an endangered population. They suggest that perhaps the stress was reduced during the pandemic when few boats were out, including fishing boats. When activity returned to the waters, perhaps the whales 'got pissed off' and 'retaliated'. In the Strait, the whales compete with fishing boats for bluefin tuna, also an endangered species. The declining population of bluefin tuna has caused fishermen to attack orcas that are in pursuit of the highly-lucrative tuna, and starvation among the orcas, especially their calves.

Orcas face intense environmental pressures in noise and chemical pollution that weakens their immune systems and causes fertility problems. Whale-watching boats crowd the waters and often harass the animals. Fishing nets and lines frequently entangle and injure baby orcas. Ezequiel Andréu Cazalla, a cetacean researcher, has described the Gibraltar Strait as “the worst place for orcas to live.” 

One whale whose calf died in the Pacific NW was observed carrying her dead baby around for weeks. Thankfully, she has just been observed with a new and healthy calf. Some scientists even speculate that this unusual behaviour in Spain and Portugal is a sort of retaliation from orcas after years of grieving lost calves, injuries from fishing gear and propellers, competition for resources, and pollution from human activity. Some researchers noted that at least two of the whales have injuries spotted in videos or photos, and they may be reacting to protect themselves. 

Victoria Morris, who has been searching for a specialist subject when she returns to study marine biology in the autumn, has found her topic. The Gibraltar orcas have one more ally, which is good because these majestic toothed mammals need all the help they can get. There are as few as 30 adults remaining. 

And if humans continue to deplete the supplies of food in the oceans, none of us will make it. 

Some of the stories:  

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/20/world/europe/orca-boat-spain.html 

https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2020/09/02/navy-sailing-boat-damaged-in-tense-stand-off-with-killer-whales-in-spain/

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/13/the-tale-of-the-killer-whales

https://www.euroweeklynews.com/2020/09/13/scientists-stumped-as-orcas-target-sailing-boats-in-spain/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/09/23/spanish-coast-guard-declares-out-of-bounds-zone-killer-whales/

https://english.elpais.com/spanish_news/2020-09-29/why-killer-whales-are-targeting-boats-in-northwestern-spain.html

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/scientists-baffled-by-orcas-following-and-ramming-boats-near-spain-and-portugal-in-retaliation/

https://www.thelocal.es/20200924/spain-bans-sailing-after-spate-of-rogue-killer-whale-attacks-on-boats

https://www.dogonews.com/2020/10/1/why-are-killer-whales-ramming-boats-in-spain-and-portugal

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-the-wednesday-edition-1.5726349/pods-of-orcas-are-ramming-boats-off-spain-and-portugal-and-scientists-don-t-know-why-1.5726350

https://www.ecowatch.com/orcas-ramming-boats-spain-2647639225.html?rebelltitem=4#rebelltitem4

https://www.efeverde.com/noticias/golpes-y-arponazos-orcas-pudieron-provocar-sus-embestidas-a-veleros/?fbclid=IwAR3xAbWlBINPhmkQoqSjEkoSPJSmSti5WuW_vznvvoEf3DdXImaRBm9J4x0