""We completely freaked out when we realized the orcas were hitting the boat.""
""They don't care if it's a sailboat or motorboat," Spanish conservation group CIRCE president Renaud de Stephanis told the CBC last year. "They look for the rudders to break them. They just push it with their head until they break it and that's it.""
""These are highly intelligent and inquisitive animals and they seem to be attracted to the underside of the boats and parts that are sticking out," neuroscientist and cetacean expert Lori Marino told the BBC in 2023. "Orcas are cultural beings and often start a fad and that fad will spread through the group.""
Pods of killer whales off the coast of Spain have been attacking boats, frequently targeting sailboat rudders and removing them by pushing with their heads. Incidents include a wooden sailing ship losing its rudder off Galicia and earlier ramming of a British sailboat. Observers note orcas are attracted to the underside of vessels and protruding parts, focusing on rudders until they break. The pattern appears social and may spread through groups as learned behavior or a fad. Researchers suggest curiosity or playfulness and the species' intelligence and cultural transmission may explain the behavior, raising safety concerns for sailors.
Read at Futurism
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