A man navigating a yacht in the North Sea near Scotland’s Shetland Islands recently encountered a remarkable incident. The man, Dr. Wim Rutten, a retired Dutch physicist, reported that an orca repeatedly rammed into his boat. This behavior is reminiscent of incidents involving killer whales further south. Rutten shared his experience with The Guardian, describing how the orca struck the boat’s stern and continued to circle back numerous times at a high speed.
Despite the aggressive encounters, the vessel did not suffer any permanent damage, only experiencing “soft shocks” felt through the hull. Rutten speculated on the motive behind the orca’s behavior, suggesting that it may have wanted to play, establish eye contact, or free itself from a fishing line.
This incident bears resemblance to several other reports from Portugal and Spain earlier this year. In one instance, orcas broke a sailing boat’s rudder and pierced its hull, requiring a rescue team to tow the vessel to a port. Another incident involved an orca trio ramming and ultimately sinking a yacht off the Spanish coast. Thankfully, no human fatalities have occurred in any of these incidents.
Dr. Alfredo López Fernandez, a biologist who authored a paper on this phenomenon last year, believes that these incidents stem from a female orca referred to as White Gladis. According to Fernandez, White Gladis may have had a traumatic encounter with a boat, resulting in defensive behavior that influenced other orcas.
However, not all scientists agree with this theory. Dr. Deborah Giles, the science director at Wild Orca, an advocacy group, suggests that the behavior may be playful and social. She believes a young orca might have initiated the playful ramming, with others subsequently joining in.
In addition to understanding the behavior’s origins, researchers raise the question of whether it is spreading to northern waters or emerging independently. Dr. Conor Ryan, an orca researcher, suggests that highly mobile orca pods may be spreading the behavior northward, akin to a “fad” or trend among different pods or communities.
The incidents have sparked a wave of jokes and memes about an orca uprising, reflecting public intrigue. However, experts like Monica Bacchus, marine programs coordinator at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Killer Whale Research and Conservation Program, do not view these occurrences as a cetacean revolution. Nevertheless, Bacchus finds the phenomenon fascinating, acknowledging that it is always exciting to witness animals exhibiting new behaviors.
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