Orcas attack raises fear of revenge in Portugal – 07/07/2023 – Environment

With the increase in interactions between orcas and sailboats in the Iberian Peninsula —there are already more than 400 episodes reported, with some serious damage to vessels and even shipwrecks—, fears of possible aggression against the animals are also growing.

At the end of June, a video recorded by tourists in the Algarve, in southern Portugal, shows the occupants of a sailboat using explosives to try to scare away the animals. There are also reports of people who already use stones and pieces of wood for the same purpose.

On the networks, messages can already be found encouraging more violent actions against orcas, which usually pass through Portugal and Spain in spring and summer, following the migratory flows of tuna.

“I know it can be very scary to be in the middle of the ocean with big animals touching your boat. It can be very dangerous for people,” says Mónica González, a marine biologist at the Coordination of Studies of Marine Mammals (CEMMA).

“But it’s also dangerous for the orcas, because people are very angry now. There are those who enter the sea with fireworks, stones or other things to try to avoid interactions. This can hurt the animals, which is very easy”, says the Spanish scientist.

The specialist is part of the GTOA, the Orca Atlântica Working Group, which has been dedicated to monitoring the situation.

Despite the potential to cause serious problems for vessels, the researchers point out that the orcas are not actually attacking the boats. There are different hypotheses for the phenomenon, including a kind of game between the animals or a mere behavioral action replicated by several individuals.

Interactions between orcas and boats began in May 2020, in the Strait of Gibraltar, and have been spreading, with at least 15 animals having documented records of this behavior. The action is always the same and mainly affects sailboats, with the animals focusing on reaching the rudder of the vessels.

In an article in the specialized journal Marine Mammal Science, published in May 2022, the scientists consider the hypothesis that some of the interactions began with an adult individual, baptized as White Gladis, after an incident with a boat. The animal may have acted to defend itself.

“Our hypothesis with Gladis Branca is that she suffered a moment of adversity involving a sailboat. So, when this orca sees a sailboat, she feels a sense of stress again and tries to stop the boat and avoid this moment”, says the marine biologist Mónica González.

According to her, this defense behavior would be linked to adults and older individuals. In the case of the youngest, there could even be a “joke” component among the animals.

The expert also points out that the animals can replicate the behavior of other individuals of their species, which would help explain how the method of interacting with the boats spread among the killer whales in the region. “It’s more a matter of copying than learning.”

“Subpopulations of killer whales are very matriarchal, mothers and grandmothers are very important. The juvenile animals are seeing an important mother in the group having this behavior of touching the boat. So, the younger ones are copying this behavior, sometimes with the idea that it is necessary to stop the boats”, he reports.

Although nicknamed the “killer whale”, orcas are actually a very large type of dolphin. They are very sociable creatures and without aggressive behavior towards humans, with the exception of episodes that happened under confinement in captivity.

To try to preserve people and animals, scientists and authorities in Portugal and Spain have been looking for solutions. One of the bets is an acoustic device with the aim of dissuading the orcas from approaching the vessels, which should start being tested soon.

While there are no more effective solutions, authorities and scientists have invested in monitoring the animals. The Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition created a signaling campaign for these animals, allowing the creation of a kind of displacement map.

Groups on social networks have been used to help sailors find their way around the region where orcas normally operate, with specific communities that aggregate up-to-date information about the route and places where the animals are seen.