Nature & Environment

Rogue orcas that attack boats have their own language, study finds

By T.K. Randall
January 20, 2026 ·  9 comments

Image: Killer Whales Jumping (illustrative)
Credit: Robert Pittman / (PD) NOAA For several years now, a pod of 'gladiator' orcas headed up by a female known as 'White Gladis' has been responsible for a spate of attacks on boats in the Strait of Gibraltar, resulting in numerous cases of snapped rudders, broken hulls and other damage costing millions of dollars in repairs.

Now, researchers who have been investigating the animals have made a rather startling discovery - the orcas in question seem to have developed their own unique 'language' that doesn't just sound different to other orca communications, but is also structurally different as well.

The findings were made by using underwater acoustic equipment to listen out for their calls.

"We've been studying these orcas for 30 years," study co-author Dr Renaud de Stephanis told The Times.

"Until now they were thought to be very silent. But now we've learnt that their calls are totally, totally different to any others. From a cultural conservation point of view, that's just amazing.""It's like suddenly finding a new [human] language in the middle of Europe."

Dr Stephanis also emphasized the structural differences between this and other orca calls.

"It's like the difference between Arabic and Latin," he said.

Around 40 individuals are thought to speak this 'language', with around 15 of those being responsible for the attacks on boats.

Right now, the prevailing theory is that the attacks aren't actually intended as hostility, but that the orcas instead treat such behavior as some sort of game for their own amusement.

How their unique language fits into the mystery, however, remains unclear.

Source: Mail Online | Comments (9)

Tags: Orca