Where Did All the Orcas Go? — Manuela Hoelterhoff

The orcas were still at it off the coast of Spain on Halloween when a small but persistent pod of the killer whales harassed a boat for a solid 45 minutes, causing enough damage to sink it.

“On October 31, 2023, in the Strait of Gibraltar, in the early afternoon, our yacht was attacked by a flock of killer whales,” the owners of the yacht Grazie Mamma II wrote on their website. (The passengers and crew were all safely rescued.) But where are they now?

Orcas ramming boats – whether through malice or playful roughhousing – is now a trend. Dozens of yachts have been “attacked” in the last two years, and at least four boats have been sunk by these rambunctious creatures.

Marine biologists and others cannot explain the odd behavior. It is widely believed that the rudders of boats, which the orcas repeatedly target, have become a plaything for curious young orcas. Once the habit is established, it becomes a learned behavior and spreads, even to other pods.

In another era, humans might have enjoined the orcas in all-out warfare and the orcas wouldn’t have had a chance, if history is any guide. But this generation of yachtsmen seem to be aware that the ocean is the orcas’ home, not theirs.

Bruno Díaz López, a biologist and the director of the Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute based in Galicia, Spain, has been advising boaters to steer clear of the pods. “We suggested the boats stay in shallow waters,” he tells the New York Times. “Maybe the trip takes longer, yes. But it is worth it.”

Orcas are the largest of the dolphin family, apex predators that hunt sharks, whales, and other prey. They usually give humans a wide berth, or anyway they used to do. The species off the Iberian coast are considered endangered. Maybe they’re just trying to tell us something?