The orcas that have been targeting boats near Gibraltar for years appear to have widened their range. Two French sailors were rescued by the Spanish coastguard Monday after they sent out a mayday call, saying their yacht was being rammed by a pod of orcas off the coast of the Basque Country, People reports. They said the killer whales had damaged the vessel's rudder. They were taken to shore by the maritime rescue service and their boat, which was not in danger of sinking, was towed to the port of Getaria. This is the first known incident of its kind in the area, though the encounters have spread to other parts of the Spanish coast in recent years, especially Galicia, reports Sur.
At least six vessels have been sunk and many others damaged since orcas began targeting yachts in 2020, though in the Strait of Gibraltar, attacks have fallen by around 90% since sailors started following recommendations including staying in shallower waters and not making loud noises to try to scare orcas away, the Telegraph reports. Javier Almunia, director of the Loro Parque Foundation, a conservation group, says the latest incident "can be explained by the same animals moving around the Iberian Peninsula" and there's no sign the behavior is spreading between pods.
A study commissioned by the Spanish and Portuguese governments found that young orcas were targeting ships' rudders for fun, Sur reports. "From May 2020 to the same dates in 2024, there are at least 637 documented interactions between killer whales and boats. However, this behavior is more linked to play than to aggression," says marine biologist Naomi Rose. She says orcas are very intelligent, and "if they wanted to sink boats, they would succeed."
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
