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A pod of 'crazy' killer whales is launching coordinated attacks on boats, terrifying the sailors and baffling scientists

Killer whales are ramming and harassing sailboats traveling along the Spanish and Portuguese coasts in a series of attacks that have left scientists baffled.

Sailors traveling along the Strait of Gibraltar to Galicia have sent numerous distress calls in the last two months, with reports of boats losing part of their rudders, crew members sustaining bruises, and ships having to be towed away because of serious damage.

In one instance, a 46-foot delivery boat was surrounded by nine orcas off Cape Trafalgar in Spain. The whales, that can weight up to six tons, rammed the boat continuously for one hour, causing it to spin 180 degrees and the engine to shut down, according to crew member Victoria Morris.

Morris told the Observer that the attack, which happened on July 28, felt "totally orchestrated."

"The noise was really scary. They were ramming the keel, there was this horrible echo, I thought they could capsize the boat," Morris said. "And this deafening noise as they communicated, whistling to each other. It was so loud that we had to shout."

The orca pod had left by the time help arrived, but the boat still had to be towed to a nearby town called Barbate. Crew members later found the rudder missing its bottom layers and teeth marks along the underside of the ship.

Several days prior, a man was motor sailing alone off Barbate when he heard a sound "like a sledgehammer" and saw his wheel "turning with incredible force." Nick Giles told the Guardian that his 34-foot Moody yacht spun 180 degrees as he felt it lift up.

Giles said he was pushed around without steering for approximately 15 minutes.

"The boat lifted up half a foot and I was pushed by a second whale from behind," he said, according to the Observer. While the sailor was resetting the cables, the orca hit again, "nearly chopping off my fingers in the mechanism."

In a similar instance, a crew member from another delivery boat near Barbate told the port authority said the force of the orcas hitting the ship "nearly dislocated the helmsman's shoulder and spun the whole yacht through 120 degrees," according to the Observer.

Researchers say that it is not unusual for orcas, who are highly social and curious animals by nature, to follow boats or even interact with the rudder as a form of play. However, it is unnatural for them to become aggressive.

"For killer whales to take out a piece of a fiberglass rudder is crazy," Rocío Espada, who works with the marine biology laboratory at the University of Seville and has observed this population of orcas in the Gibraltar Straits for years, told the Observer. "I've seen these orcas grow from babies, I know their life stories, I've never seen or heard of attacks."

It is not known if all the encounters involve the same pod, but it is probable, said Dr. Ruth Esteban, who has also studied the Gibraltar orcas extensively. Esteban thinks it unlikely two groups would display such unusual behavior.

Espada believes that the ramming could indicate stress, which could be associated with the nets and long lines found along the Straits and the fact that the area is a major shipping route.

Gibraltar orcas are also endangered and are suffering in the food-scarce, noisy and polluted waters in the area, researchers say.

The Gibraltar Straits is one "the worst place for orcas to live," according to Ezequiel Andréu Cazalla, a cetacean researcher who also spoke to the Observer.

The only reason the orcas return to the area is that they hunt bluefin tuna, which used to be abundant in the area.

However, human fishing has caused the near-collapse of bluefin tuna, in turn leading the orca population "to the very edge, with only about 30 adults left", according to Cazalla.

Orcas are the largest of the dolphin family and can grow up 32 feet.

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by Anonymousreply 98October 8, 2020 5:07 PM

What part of "killer" don't you understand?

by Anonymousreply 1September 13, 2020 7:07 PM

Revenge of the BEAST!

by Anonymousreply 2September 13, 2020 7:08 PM

they are sick of our shit. I am also.

by Anonymousreply 3September 13, 2020 7:09 PM

Those aren't whales.

by Anonymousreply 4September 13, 2020 7:09 PM

[quote] Espada believes that the ramming could indicate stress, which could be associated with the nets and long lines found along the Straits and the fact that the area is a major shipping route.

Derp... ya think?

by Anonymousreply 5September 13, 2020 7:10 PM

Good. Maybe we should stop fucking with their oceans

by Anonymousreply 6September 13, 2020 7:16 PM

Whales getting together to attack humans? Impossible! Why if they did that, mankind would be doomed.

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by Anonymousreply 7September 13, 2020 7:18 PM

Enough is ENOUGH! Stop throwing your garbage 🗑 in my water!

by Anonymousreply 8September 13, 2020 7:20 PM

A pod of 'crazy' killer whales is coming this way!

Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

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by Anonymousreply 9September 13, 2020 7:21 PM

Get off my lawn!

by Anonymousreply 10September 13, 2020 7:22 PM

Wow, i live in Spain and i didn't heard anything about this

by Anonymousreply 11September 13, 2020 7:23 PM

Killer whales are notoriously cunty.

by Anonymousreply 12September 13, 2020 7:23 PM

But they generally don't attack humans. They are usually very curious but only dangerous to humans because they are very big so it's quite easy for them to kill a human even without intention

by Anonymousreply 13September 13, 2020 7:26 PM

[quote] Those aren't whales.

That's no moon.

by Anonymousreply 14September 13, 2020 7:28 PM

"I'm telling you now, so I don't have to tell you then."

by Anonymousreply 15September 13, 2020 7:33 PM

Told you I was hardcore.

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by Anonymousreply 16September 13, 2020 7:34 PM

Good. Thin the heard.

by Anonymousreply 17September 13, 2020 7:34 PM

Would these whales be interested in participating in a Trump boat parade?

by Anonymousreply 18September 13, 2020 7:38 PM

What's next? Land sharks?

It's all fun and games until someone gets an eye poked out.

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by Anonymousreply 19September 13, 2020 7:39 PM

Don't blame me.

by Anonymousreply 20September 13, 2020 7:54 PM

GET THE FUCK OUT!

by Anonymousreply 21September 13, 2020 8:00 PM

This is the only way you can get British tourists to leave. With the Germans, you can just take their sunloungers away.

by Anonymousreply 22September 13, 2020 8:01 PM

2020 is the year mother nature is saying 'ENOUGH CUNTS - PAYBACK TIME' and punishing us slowly.

Covid. Wildfires. Orca attacks. A Madonna biopic.

She's not letting us off easy. It's going to be a slow, torturous death.

by Anonymousreply 23September 13, 2020 8:04 PM

Told you I was hard core.

by Anonymousreply 24September 13, 2020 8:23 PM

R24, are you also R16?

by Anonymousreply 25September 13, 2020 8:24 PM

This is similar to cows who turn on hikers in the Alps. Sometimes they have had enough. Animals are not stupid.

by Anonymousreply 26September 13, 2020 8:30 PM

Bo Derek better watch out.

by Anonymousreply 27September 13, 2020 8:33 PM

[quote] This is similar to cows who turn on hikers in the Alps. Sometimes they have had enough. Animals are not stupid.

Is that true? Either way, I'm laughing. I just hadn't heard that.

by Anonymousreply 28September 13, 2020 9:07 PM

They're such intelligent animals! But it's an intelligence that truly cannot be tamed by man. If they want to kill you, they'll figure out a clever way to do it. You will be terrified and dying and impressed by how clever it was at the same time.

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by Anonymousreply 29September 13, 2020 9:13 PM

R26, you weren't kidding.

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by Anonymousreply 30September 13, 2020 9:14 PM

Why do you think they are called KILLER WHALES? Duh.

by Anonymousreply 31September 13, 2020 9:17 PM

People get stressed they lash out. Animals same.

by Anonymousreply 32September 13, 2020 9:25 PM

Stop stealing our fish and polluting our ocean

by Anonymousreply 33September 13, 2020 9:25 PM

Are you sure those are whales and not a pod of Chrissy Mertzes?

by Anonymousreply 34September 13, 2020 9:31 PM

I was going to say the same thing, r29.

[quote] But they generally don't attack humans.

They're cute, but don't mess with them.

I'm glad that times have changed, and it's no longer acceptable to hold them in captivity.

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by Anonymousreply 35September 13, 2020 10:37 PM

Thanks for sharing, this was really interesting! I just hope no humans decide this pod is too dangerous to live and tries to do something about it. If they do try to, I'll be on the orcas' side.

by Anonymousreply 36September 13, 2020 10:39 PM

Killer Whales' Lives Matter

by Anonymousreply 37September 16, 2020 2:02 AM

good for them, the whales are possibly smarter than us, just without opposable thumbs and a way to control fire. good that they attack us

by Anonymousreply 38September 16, 2020 2:05 AM

Team killer whale!

by Anonymousreply 39September 16, 2020 2:07 AM
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by Anonymousreply 40September 16, 2020 2:08 AM

Herman Melville tried to warn us, but did we listen? No. (There is, in fact, a long history of sea mammals deliberately attacking ships).

by Anonymousreply 41September 16, 2020 2:08 AM

I want to give them a big hug!

by Anonymousreply 42September 16, 2020 2:13 AM

Good! I’m on the whales’ side! They’ve had quite enough of our bullshit.

by Anonymousreply 43September 16, 2020 2:16 AM

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

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by Anonymousreply 44September 16, 2020 2:19 AM

[quote] A pod of 'crazy' killer whales

Crazy like a fox.

They knew what they were doing.

by Anonymousreply 45September 16, 2020 2:21 AM

Whale Team!

by Anonymousreply 46September 16, 2020 2:23 AM

There is actually a book (and an upcoming mini series by a GoT producer) that predicts just that. The book starts with whales attacking boats and soon all kinds of sea dwellers attack humans all around the globe trying to stop them from destroying their habitat. The book and mini series is called "The Swarm" and is very good.

by Anonymousreply 47September 16, 2020 2:23 AM

Stupid whales. The pickings are SO much better off the island of Lesbos.

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by Anonymousreply 48September 16, 2020 2:25 AM

Team Orca. And they are saying:

STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM US.

GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE OCEAN.

by Anonymousreply 49September 16, 2020 2:27 AM

R17 "Thin the heard"

Oh dear...

by Anonymousreply 50September 16, 2020 2:29 AM

I prefer R46 to R39.

by Anonymousreply 51September 16, 2020 2:35 AM

R42 =

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by Anonymousreply 52September 16, 2020 2:35 AM

ORCAS need to head to japan next.

Get 'em, orcas!

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by Anonymousreply 53September 16, 2020 2:38 AM

The Simpsons warned us about the dolphins.

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by Anonymousreply 54September 16, 2020 2:39 AM

Dolphins are not orcas, R54.

by Anonymousreply 55September 16, 2020 2:40 AM

[quote] Dolphins are not orcas, [R54].

Dolphins are the new orcas, R55

by Anonymousreply 56September 16, 2020 2:42 AM

Somebody's Navy is fucking around with Sonar again. They know for example this is why many whales have " "beached" themselves in the past:

by Anonymousreply 57September 16, 2020 2:43 AM

Land or sea, they are coming for us.

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by Anonymousreply 58September 16, 2020 2:47 AM

I think that the orcas were trying to do this to the humans, but were unsuccessful.

They truly are amazing creatures.

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by Anonymousreply 59September 16, 2020 2:47 AM

"The sneaky way orcas hunt seals."

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by Anonymousreply 60September 16, 2020 2:48 AM

Did you know that dolphins are just gay sharks?

by Anonymousreply 61September 16, 2020 2:49 AM

[quote] "The sneaky way orcas hunt seals."

This tactic been on every nature show for years. Its not new or undiscovered through your YouTube wet dreams.

by Anonymousreply 62September 16, 2020 2:52 AM

How do the orcas share the seal meat?

There's only one seal, but about six or seven orcas.

by Anonymousreply 63September 16, 2020 2:53 AM

"Dolphins are not orcas, [R54]."

R55 But orcas are dolphins.

by Anonymousreply 64September 16, 2020 3:02 AM

I asked my shark expert friend, who has been featured on shows and articles, of her opinion:

Orcas are no joke neither is overfishing. I'd hypothesize stress as a factor for sure. They're quite intelligent so I don't believe it to be a big stretch that they'd show aggressive behavior to food competitors.

by Anonymousreply 65September 16, 2020 1:47 PM

When you turn a shark upside down, they freeze. Tonic Immobility

There have been instances of killer whales taking advantage of this. And they only want the livers.

by Anonymousreply 66September 16, 2020 1:57 PM

[quote] And they only want the livers

With a nice chianti?

by Anonymousreply 67September 16, 2020 9:30 PM

Maybe it's not an attack.

Maybe they're just trying to sail with the boats, like dolphins do.

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by Anonymousreply 68September 17, 2020 1:03 PM

They were never going to survive unless they got a little crazy

by Anonymousreply 69September 17, 2020 1:07 PM

Spain bans yachts from stretch of sea after orcas damage boats

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by Anonymousreply 70September 23, 2020 9:40 PM

[quote] Spain bans yachts from stretch of sea after orcas damage boats

Yachts, but not fishing boats.

That won't do anything to solve the problem of fishing vessels taking food from the orcas.

by Anonymousreply 71September 23, 2020 9:49 PM

And "accidentally" killing the orcas as well.

by Anonymousreply 72September 23, 2020 10:36 PM

There was another cow attack in the Swiss alps last weekend. Several hikers attacked. The last one had to be helicoptered away.

by Anonymousreply 73September 23, 2020 10:54 PM

Somehow Alfred Hitchcock's "The Cows" just doesn't have the right ring to it.

Even if it would make sense that the leading lady be named "Tippi".

by Anonymousreply 74September 23, 2020 11:43 PM

It might be a fun yet sinister horror movie, all the same. The Swiss alps and the mountain people can be quite creepy and inbred. Like mountain people everywhere.

by Anonymousreply 75September 23, 2020 11:54 PM

Glad to see the animals fighting back.

by Anonymousreply 76September 23, 2020 11:55 PM

Tangential, but there was a jihadist assassination in Morges Switzerland a few weeks ago, in a kebab shop. It was hushed up but I noticed in tiny blurb next to the cow attack that they finally admitted it was jihadist.

by Anonymousreply 77September 24, 2020 12:11 AM

Antifa whales!

by Anonymousreply 78September 24, 2020 12:14 AM

Maybe the animals have noticed over the past six months the absence of humans getting in their spaces, and now they're used to it and don't wish to go back to how it was?

by Anonymousreply 79September 24, 2020 12:15 AM

They are learning.

by Anonymousreply 80September 24, 2020 12:25 AM

They are learning.

by Anonymousreply 81September 24, 2020 12:25 AM

I imagine there was a giant animal council meeting and the animals formed a strategy to deal with the threat humanity poses.

I think they are on to us.

by Anonymousreply 82September 24, 2020 12:31 AM

Call me Benedict Arnold, but I think I'm on the animals' side...

by Anonymousreply 83September 24, 2020 12:33 AM

Maybe sacrificing a few fat people like Trump and Barr will help to resolve our strained relationship with sea and ocean life?

by Anonymousreply 84September 24, 2020 12:39 AM

And tie up Melania and Ivanka to a rock, like Andromeda, except there's no Perseus to rescue them.

by Anonymousreply 85September 24, 2020 1:26 AM

Orcas don't eat plastic, R85

by Anonymousreply 86September 24, 2020 1:29 AM

Spain Surrenders. Chased off the seas by the orcas.

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by Anonymousreply 87September 24, 2020 1:54 AM

I can't wait to see the world lose it's shit when the first human is devoured by one.

by Anonymousreply 88September 25, 2020 3:03 PM

r88, they really don't eat humans, but they do kill them.

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by Anonymousreply 89September 26, 2020 5:31 PM

I'm looking forward to the SyFy movie regarding killer cows.

by Anonymousreply 90September 26, 2020 6:07 PM

I found that fascinating when I first saw it r66. It was almost surgical how they would immobilize the great whites and extract their livers. When I think about how much I am trying to simplify my life, I envy the way the KW with all their intelligence just get to plod through. But now they're pissed. It is no small thing.

by Anonymousreply 91September 26, 2020 6:51 PM

Now it's the raccoons!

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by Anonymousreply 92September 27, 2020 12:54 AM

The adult voice in that raccoon video. Man, woman, gender fluid?

by Anonymousreply 93September 27, 2020 7:44 AM

Orcas attacking yachts off Spanish coast could be doing so 'in revenge'

A group of scientists investigating a spate of attacks by orcas on yachts off the coast of Spain in recent months has said their unprecedented behaviour may be a form of revenge from the whales after being injured by humans.

Members of the international working group for Atlantic orcas say they have been able to confirm that three juvenile orcas from the same pod are responsible for the ramming attacks that have damaged a series of boats.

Of the three orcas, which the scientists have collectively named Gladys, a study of photographs taken over the summer period has revealed that two sustained injuries to their flanks, which is not the kind of habitual damage the animals’ dorsal fins sustain by accidental brushes with fishing lines.

The injuries to white Gladys and black Gladys, named due to differences in their dorsal fin colouration, appeared between June 20 and August 3. The vast majority of the incidents took place after this time, leading researchers to suspect there is a connection and that the orcas are retaliating aggressively to the pain they ensured.

“Since that event a series of behaviours have been triggered when the orcas are in the presence of yachts, which culminate in a preventive action to stop it moving by manipulating [the rudder],” the report reads.

The scientists say they do not know when or where the incident took place and how it led to the injuries sustained by the two orcas.

"We are not even certain whether the incident occurred accidentally or intentionally," the report states.

"We cannot rule out that a sailboat could have been involved in the aversive incident or that the orcas identify sailboats as more accessible boats and with larger rudders than others.”

Sailors have reported “coordinated attacks” by a group of orcas sometimes lasting up to an hour, in which the animals take turns to ram the hulls of yachts, bite the rudder and make boats spin around.

In 61 per cent of the 33 reported incidents since late July, the researchers have been able to confIrm that the Gladys trio were involved, leading them to suspect they are always to blame.

Six attacks took place in the Strait of Gibraltar area, five in Portuguese waters and 22 off the coast of the northwestern Spanish region of Galicia, where yachting was banned off a stretch of coastline to avoid further confrontations.

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by Anonymousreply 94October 7, 2020 9:22 PM

The ocean is the whale’s house.

by Anonymousreply 95October 7, 2020 9:33 PM

Sounds like they figured out who took all their tuna.

by Anonymousreply 96October 7, 2020 10:16 PM

R94 that theory is interesting and very sad. I bet they are smart enough to understand what happened to them was NOT accidental. I mean if they are capable of "revenge" it means they understand intent to harm, versus accident.

by Anonymousreply 97October 7, 2020 10:43 PM

It is indeed very sad, R97.

Orca are such intelligent creatures - obviously - and humans treat them like crap.

by Anonymousreply 98October 8, 2020 5:07 PM
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