Nature & Environment

Crews left stranded as orcas attack more boats off the coast of Spain

By T.K. Randall
September 5, 2025

Image: Killer Whales Jumping (illustrative)
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.

While it had seemed as though the phenomenon had died down recently, reports from Spain indicate that the killer whales are at it again - this time tearing the rudder off a German sailboat and then repeatedly ramming it while it was being towed back to safety by the authorities.There are also several other reports of similar recent attacks in the region.

"The truth is we were very frightened; in fact we completely freaked out when we realized the orcas were hitting the boat," said Valentin Otero, the owner of the boat that had to be towed.

Previously, leading marine biologist Alex Zerbini of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) had stated that the most likely explanation for the ongoing 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.

Exactly how to get them to stop doing it, however, remains unclear.

Source: Live Science

Tags: Orca