Reports of killer whales appearing to try and capsize boats off the coast of Spain and Portugal have raised questions about the giant sea creatures and the motive behind their erratic actions.
said most of the interactions have been harmless, but at least three ships have sunk since the behavior started in 2020.
Trites doesn't think the incidents are attacks, and while some speculate the whales may be"retaliating," he doesn't believe that theory."I read that something triggered one of the adult females and she is exacting revenge and teaching the others to do that too by ramming vessels and trying to intentionally sink them," he said."To ram a vessel makes as much sense as me running full speed into a brick wall. You're going to get injured.
Trites said whales do not eat humans and there are no reports of them attacking any humans. However, this behavior change in the whales is dangerous and could result in a boater being killed.He said the behavior reminds him of a whale named Luca, spotted off the coast of Vancouver, who separated from his pod and began to follow boats."He later learned to grab onto the rudders to break them off to disable the boats, to push boats around," Trites said.
Trites said some of the reports from Spain and Portugal are consistent with this behavior – whales putting their noses up to the back of the boat.
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