A pod of orcas have sunk a yacht in the Strait of Gibraltar

[Stevicus]

https://www.npr.org/2023/11/07/1211269495/orca-boat-yacht-attack-spain-morocco

Rescuers were able to save the crew and return them safely to port in Tanger-Med on the coast of Morocco. Their vessel, though, sank into the sea.

It's good that they were able to save the crew.

Apparently, there's been a string of incidents involving orcas, but scientists can't pinpoint any discernible cause.

Since 2020, there have been about 500 encounters between orcas and boats, Alfredo López Fernandez, a coauthor of a 2022 study in the journal Marine Mammal Science, told NPR earlier this year. At least three boats have sunk, though there is no record of an orca killing a human in the wild.

Scientists have been trying to pinpoint the cause of the behavior.

They might be just playing around or possibly out for revenge, according to a couple of theories, but they don't really know for sure. Still, it's kind of strange that there have been so many incidents in the past few years.

What do you think could be causing the whales to do this?

 

[Heyo]

https://www.npr.org/2023/11/07/1211269495/orca-boat-yacht-attack-spain-morocco

It's good that they were able to save the crew.

Apparently, there's been a string of incidents involving orcas, but scientists can't pinpoint any discernible cause.



They might be just playing around or possibly out for revenge, according to a couple of theories, but they don't really know for sure. Still, it's kind of strange that there have been so many incidents in the past few years.

What do you think could be causing the whales to do this?

They have finally been convinced by Sea Shepard to join the protests.

 

[SalixIncendium]

I would bet it's a form of retaliation for trauma sustained by White Gladis, an orca that's local to the area.

Of the 35 killer whales in the region, 15 are reported to have been involved in the highly unusual interactions, which experts think began after White Gladis’ behaviour altered in a ‘defensive’ fashion after she suffered a ‘critical moment of agony’ involving a boat collision or illegal fishing entrapment – leading to other orcas damaging passing vessels in response.​

​

Study explains why Orcas are attacking boats in the Strait of Gibraltar

An orca named ‘White Gladis’ may have been traumatised by injury, triggering behaviour that other orcas imitate, attacking and damaging boats

divemagazine.com

And for anyone who might doubt the capacity for orcas to premeditate retaliation...

11 ways orcas show their terrifying intelligence

Orcas have their own dialect, greeting ceremonies and even wore salmon as hats in a weird fad during the 1980s.

www.livescience.com

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

What do you think could be causing the whales to do this?

I think I'll wait for more input from those who know what they're talking about.

 

[Revoltingest]

I think I'll wait for more input from those who know what they're talking about.

You could read the links that @SalixIncendium posted.
That would be better than scoffing at the thread without contributing.

 

[Stevicus]

I think I'll wait for more input from those who know what they're talking about.

Sounds like an excellent suggestion. Let's wait together, shall we?

 

[Eddi]

Good

Perhaps they are exacting revenge on humankind for all the horrors we have inflicted on whalekind?

They are sensitive and intelligent creatures so who knows what's going through their minds

But as Jay said, it would probably be best to hear what experts think, as opposed to just speculating

Apparently their brains are bigger in proportion to the rest of their bodies than the brains of humans are to our bodies which would potentially make them more intelligent than us

 

[Heyo]

Apparently their brains are bigger in proportion to the rest of their bodies than the brains of humans are to our bodies which would potentially make them more intelligent than us

Nope. Orcas are big, really big. They also have bigger brains than humans and their brains have more folds. But in proportion to body size we still have the upper hand over them. We lose out against some birds and some ants, though.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Nope. Orcas are big, really big. They also have bigger brains than humans and their brains have more folds. But in proportion to body size we still have the upper hand over them. We lose out against some birds and some ants, though.

This is how I see it. Orcas are essentially the "humans" of the oceans (though smarter, because they don't burn through all the natural resources of their environment).

 

[PureX]

https://www.npr.org/2023/11/07/1211269495/orca-boat-yacht-attack-spain-morocco

It's good that they were able to save the crew.

Apparently, there's been a string of incidents involving orcas, but scientists can't pinpoint any discernible cause.



They might be just playing around or possibly out for revenge, according to a couple of theories, but they don't really know for sure. Still, it's kind of strange that there have been so many incidents in the past few years.

What do you think could be causing the whales to do this?

Turns out there is this one orange-looking orca that is traveling around stirring up and enraging all the other orcas and then encouraging them to engage in mindless attacks. And yet despite of it's bright orange color, no one seems to be able to find and stop the evil orange one and put an end to all these mindless attacks.