In 1987, a bizarre story made headlines revealing that teenage killer whales in the Pacific Ocean were killing salmon and putting them on their heads like hats.
The strange behavior was monitored for several centuries but ceased by the following summer, and was considered a “temporary cultural fad”.
Now, it seems that teenage orcas off the coast of Europe have a new fashion, which involves attacking sailing boats.
Groups of young men have been seen attacking boats off the coasts of France, Portugal and Spain – leaving scientists confused as to why.
Twitter user Heidi Heidi posted about the strange behavior on Twitterdescribing orcas as “teenage troublemakers”.
Last year, a British sailor surrounded a group of killer whales that attempted to capsize his boat
Last year, a British sailor surrounded a group of killer whales that attempted to capsize his boat.
Alan Bruce, 63, was running a 44-foot sailing yacht in the Strait of Gibraltar with Frenchman Stephen Beer, 49, when four orca whales suddenly started hitting and rocking the ship.
Experienced sailors pulled out of the lower deck and called the radio for help before enduring 90 minutes of harassment from animals as they repeatedly turned the hull of the boat.
They also deliberately broke the rudder to disable the yacht.
Esther Kristen Storksson, a medical student from Norway, also encountered a group of orcas that “rammed” her father’s yacht off the coast of France.
Talking to NPRShe said: They were hitting the boat. that they [hit] Over and over… giving us the impression that it was a coordinated attack.
The attack left the yacht’s helm so damaged that Mrs. Storksson and her father were forced to cut their voyage short and land carefully at Brest.
Meanwhile, last month, two boats were reportedly sunk by orcas off the coast of Portugal.
“There were two orca ‘attacks’ in the early morning of Sunday, July 31 near Sines,” he writes residing in Portugal.
One ended in the sinking of a boat and the rescue of five crew members.
The second included a smaller sailing boat, on its way from Lisbon to the Algarve, with two men on board.
The two men were asleep when the killer whales collided with the boat with some major collision, biting the rudder and immobilizing it.
“The boat was later towed to the dry dock, as concern is growing among the sailing fraternity about these accidents.”
While the reason for the behavior remains unclear, scientists suggest that orcas may like the water pressure created by a boat’s propeller.
While the reason for the behavior remains unclear, scientists suggest that orcas may like the water pressure created by a boat’s propeller.
Speaking to NPR, Renaud de Stephanis, president and coordinator at CIRCE Conservación Information and Research, explained: “What we think is that they’re asking to put the fan in their face.”
When animals encounter an immobile fan, they get kind of frustrated and that’s why they break [it]De Stefanis added.
However, this does not explain a confrontation off the coast of Spain last year, in which the orca attacked a boat with a moving propeller.
Researchers believe that the attacks are carried out by only a few young orcas, and it could simply be another temporary cultural fad.
Other examples of temporary cultural fads in adolescent orcas include playing with shrimp and crab traps, and wearing dead fish on their heads as hats.
in Study 2004Researchers from Dalhousie University explained: “Examples of this are the well-studied ‘dead salmon’ fad, which eats fish, and orcas in the Puget Sound region of the Northeast Pacific.
It started with a female in a K-Pod carrying around a dead salmon in 1987, spread to the other two centuries in the Southern population over a period of 5-6 weeks and then stopped.
“It was noticed a few times the following summer, and then it never happened again.”
Fortunately, orca killings of humans in the wild have not been recorded.
This news comes shortly after a great white shark drifted ashore, after being brutally attacked by a pair of orca.
Orcas have come up with a unique way to access the precious organs of their victims, launching repeated attacks until the shark is damaged.
After that, one of them dives to kill, attacking from below with his serrated teeth tearing the large white with surgical precision under the liver.
This news comes shortly after a great white shark was washed ashore, after it was brutally attacked by a pair of orcas.
The member falls free and the killer whales swallow what is a delicacy for them. So far, nine great white shark corpses minus their giant livers have been swept away.
In the most recent incident, a nine-foot slaughter Great White in Mossel Bay, Western Province, South Africa, was swept away by the waves at the dawn of the waves in the tourist area.
Christian Stopforth, a local resident, said: “It was very sad to see this amazing majestic animal lying lifeless because of these orcas – this is the second in two months.”
“With all the shark carcasses in South Africa having to be done, this is heartbreaking and it will never be easier,” said marine biologist Alison Towner.
WHAT IS TYPE D KILLER WHALES?
These majestic creatures – identified only in 1955 – have only been spotted a few times in the past 70 years.
When it was first discovered after a mass stranding in New Zealand in the 1950s, it was thought to be a mutated orca species worldwide.
They are so distinct from other orcas that some experts believe they should qualify even for their own species.
Compared to ordinary dolphins, these orcas have more bulbous heads and sharper dorsal fins.
These majestic creatures – identified only in 1955 – have only been spotted a few times in the past 70 years.
The spots on their eyes are smaller than those on other species – A, B and C – which are known to inhabit Antarctic waters.
They are especially distinguished due to their small eye spots.
They have been seen eating Patagonian toothfish but it is not known if they eat fish exclusively.
Experts believe that if they were a new species, they could be the largest remaining undescribed animal on the planet.