Orcas have been making headlines recently due to a rise in incidents where killer whales ambush boats. One boat captain, Dan Kriz, has experienced this phenomenon not once, but twice, with the second encounter appearing more targeted.
In 2020, Kriz and his crew were delivering a yacht through the Strait of Gibraltar, when they encountered a pack of eight orcas, who pushed their boat around for an hour. The ship’s rudder was severely damaged, forcing them to be towed to the nearest marina. This behavior was considered “very unusual” at the time.
Then, in April, it happened again near the Canary Islands. Kriz initially thought they were hit by a wave, but soon realized they were facing the wrath of the orcas. The video of the encounter showed the orcas biting off both rudders, with one of them seen swimming with a piece of rudder in its mouth. These orcas seemed more stealthy and knew exactly how to prevent the boat from moving further.
The attack on the rudders lasted for about 15 minutes. When the crew started heading towards Spain’s coast, one adult orca chased them. Kriz believed that the orca wanted to finish the job but eventually left them alone.
Kriz is not the only one to experience such encounters. In recent months, several people off the coasts of Portugal and Spain have encountered orcas. Research by the orca research group GTOA shows a significant increase in such incidents in the past two years.
Biologist and wildlife conservationist Jeff Corwin has highlighted the intelligence of the whales, saying that they learn from their environment and share their skills with other whales. The reason behind these boat attacks remains a mystery, with speculations suggesting it could be related to play, sport, or negative experiences with boats in the past.
Killer whales are the only species in this region known to attack boats, and while the exact reason is unclear, something is reinforcing this behavior among them.
It is worth noting that the above report was contributed by Caitlin O’Kane and the author, Li Cohen, is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS News.
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