Orcas in the Strait of Gibraltar are accused of "attacking" sailing boats, when in fact what they are interested in is the rudders of boats, the part of the rudder that is in the water… Their favourite toy of the moment!
"It is not a question of "attacks", "revenge" or "rebellion" as can be read in many media articles, but of a new play behaviour, involving individuals from several social groups, particularly young people. The team, which has been monitoring the local population for more than 20 years, points out that several of these individuals have shown a strong propensity to approach human equipment from their earliest years, and belong to groups that also frequently interact with fishing gear, feeding on the fish caught by fishermen".
Paul TIXIER (IRD, MARBEC), researcher in the ecology of marine mammals and their interactions with human activities, co-coordinator of the monitoring of orcas populations in the southern Indian Ocean with the CEBC-CNRS
"From what we can see from the underwater videos in particular, when we see them coming around the rudder and touching the rudder, trying to remove it, it looks more like a collective game. There are several of them, they pass the object around once it's detached and continue to play with it in the water away from the boat once they've managed to remove it. The orcas do not appear to be motivated in any way by a desire to sink the boat or harm the people on it", explains Paul TIXIER.
"However, the priority now is to find solutions, because it's obviously an experience that can be traumatic for the people on board the vessels involved, and what is worrying is the aggressive reactions from people that the interactions could provoke. The killer whale population that frequents the Strait of Gibraltar is very small and associated with major conservation issues. In addition to developing technological solutions that have no impact on orcas or their environment, we need to change the way we use the area, adapting to the presence of orcas and avoiding areas where the likelihood of interaction is highest, which is now known".
To know more
https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/podcasts/camille-passe-au-vert/camille-passe-au-vert-du-mardi-27-juin-2023-5276526
https://reporterre.net/Francois-Sarano-La-vengeance-des-orques-C-est-tout-a-fait-fantasme