The captain of a luxurious 45-foot yacht cruising along the coast of Portugal described a chilling recount about a pod of orcas ramming his boat for more than two hours. It is not known why there have been a string of more than 40 killer whale attacks occurring off the Iberian coast in the last six months.
According to The Guardian, David Smith and his crew had been moving the yacht to a new location when six or seven killer whales started to ram the underside of the vessel. The whales were smaller and thought to have been juveniles, but seemed to have been focused on the rudder; the same as has been reported on numerous previous attacks.
Even after Smith shut the boat’s engine, the orcas continued to ram the boat, and it was feared the rudder, which steers the boat could be damaged, making it unable for the vessel to operate. Smith stated he had been ready to request help from the Portuguese Coast Guard.
Scientists have not been able to figure out why the attacks have occurred, however there have been repeated reports these orcas have been a rather aggressive pod. Were they playing? Viewing videos do show injuries on the orcas likely suffered from boat encounters. Were they out for “revenge”? It’s a theory although remains unproven.
It seems there are three especially aggressive orcas who seem to be leading the attacks. So far no humans have been severely injured.
Maybe humans should take heed and pay attention to these very intelligent animals? They might be smarter than man thinks they are. We are supposed to be sharing this planet – maybe it’s time we actually did?
Check out an earlier video from another orca attack report:
Video via The Guardian.
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