Orcas Increasingly Attack Boats Off Spanish Coast

Orcas have been increasingly aggressive towards boats off the Spanish coast, with a significant rise in documented interactions. In 2023 alone, 207 incidents were recorded, a sharp increase from 57 between July and November 2020. This escalating pattern has led to severe damage to vessels, with one yacht sinking after a prolonged attack by orcas that necessitated the rescue of its occupants by the Moroccan navy.

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This group is so small that the IUCN lists it as critically endangered, as the group's primary food source consists of heavily overfished Atlantic bluefin tuna.

Researchers have identified approximately 15 orcas responsible for these attacks. This group belongs to a critically endangered Iberian subpopulation, numbering fewer than 50 individuals. Their primary food source, the Atlantic bluefin tuna, is heavily overfished, potentially contributing to their stress and altered behavior.

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White Gladis, the matriarch, may have suffered some trauma related to boats, possibly an injury caused by a rudder.

Scientists, including Alfredo López Fernandez of the Atlantic Orca Working Group, suggest that the attacks may stem from a traumatic experience, possibly involving a rudder injury. This theory centers on a matriarch orca named White Gladis, who is believed to have been involved in the first recorded incident in 2020. The researchers emphasize that these actions are a defense reflex, not an act of revenge in the human sense, and are likely a response to perceived threats from boats.

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This concept of trauma-driven behavior as a kind of defense reaction is shared by more and more researchers.