Nature & Environment

Scientists may finally know why orcas keep ramming into boats

By T.K. Randall
June 3, 2024

Image: Killer Whales Jumping
Credit: Robert Pittman / (PD) NOAA The seaborne mammals were first observed deliberately ramming boats back in 2020 and since then it seems to have spread far and wide, with prominent incidents being reported last year in the waters off Spain and Portugal.

Experts believe that this behavior may have started with an adult female named White Gladis who survived some sort of traumatic event such as being injured by a collision with a boat.

Younger orcas then started to copy her and the trend spread among the population.

Now, according to leading marine biologist Alex Zerbini of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), the most likely explanation for the continued attacks is that young orcas may simply be mimicking the behavior as a form of "cultural tradition".Essentially, ramming into boats has become something of a fad for them.

"Different populations often have distinct dietary specializations maintained by cultural transmission, and these 'ecotypes' typically have a variety of persistent behavioral traditions related to their divergent foraging," Zerbini and colleagues wrote in a new study into the phenomenon.

"Some populations may also develop unusual and temporary behavioral 'fads' and other idiosyncrasies that do not appear to serve any obvious adaptive purpose."

As with other fads observed in orcas, it is possible that this one will simply die out after a while.

Exactly how long that might take to happen, however, remains unclear.

Source: Independent

Tags: Orca, Killer Whale