# This year has reportedly seen a spate of attacks by orcas ("killer whales") against boats in the Strait of Gibraltar **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 14, 2020, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-year-has-reportedly-seen-a-spate-of-attacks-by-orcas-killer-whales-against-boats-in-the-strait-of-gibraltar/920611 "2020-09-14T21:57:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-year-has-reportedly-seen-a-spate-of-attacks-by-orcas-killer-whales-against-boats-in-the-strait-of-gibraltar/920611/102 "2024-05-25T07:19:50Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > You may be conflating orca attacks _on_ sharks in South Africa with orcas attacking boats. Because that is a whole thing. I do wonder if it is learned behavior from animals dispersing from the [North Pacific](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/orcas-may-turn-great-white-sharks-into-scaredy-cats/). Orcas have massive dispersal potential at least and there seems to be at least [some genetic evidence for gene interchange between at least North Atlantic and North Pacific populations](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3176785/). ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-year-has-reportedly-seen-a-spate-of-attacks-by-orcas-killer-whales-against-boats-in-the-strait-of-gibraltar/920611/103 "2024-05-25T11:45:14Z")
I think the orcae are mad about [humans that try to bodyslam them](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/man-body-slam-orca-new-zealand/). ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-year-has-reportedly-seen-a-spate-of-attacks-by-orcas-killer-whales-against-boats-in-the-strait-of-gibraltar/920611/104 "2024-05-25T16:19:25Z")
Feral hoodies of the sea. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2024, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-year-has-reportedly-seen-a-spate-of-attacks-by-orcas-killer-whales-against-boats-in-the-strait-of-gibraltar/920611/105 "2024-05-27T00:44:25Z")
**Q** : Where does a teenage 1,000 lb orca swim? **A** : Anywhere it wants to. Including through your measly boat. 😁  ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2024, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-year-has-reportedly-seen-a-spate-of-attacks-by-orcas-killer-whales-against-boats-in-the-strait-of-gibraltar/920611/106 "2024-05-27T02:16:44Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Because that is a whole thing. I love that they refer to it as “single-handedly.” ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2024, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-year-has-reportedly-seen-a-spate-of-attacks-by-orcas-killer-whales-against-boats-in-the-strait-of-gibraltar/920611/107 "2024-05-27T23:39:10Z")
> [@](#): > > The distinct smell of shark liver in the air A scent you don’t want to be wearing while yachting off Gibraltar. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-year-has-reportedly-seen-a-spate-of-attacks-by-orcas-killer-whales-against-boats-in-the-strait-of-gibraltar/920611/108 "2024-07-23T12:00:25Z")
Updating not with a new story but an old one: in the 70s an eccentric ex sailor sold up his farm and packed his family into a yacht to sail them around the world and teach them about stuff theyd never get in school. It worked splendidly until, 250 miles from the Galapagos, they encountered a small pod of orcas. > **[‘We pledged not to eat each other’: the family that was shipwrecked for 38 days](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/jul/23/the-family-that-was-shipwrecked-for-38-days?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other)** > > In 1972, while travelling the world, the Robertsons’ boat was attacked by whales. They found themselves adrift for weeks on a tiny raft, forced to drink turtle blood, kill sharks and use enemas to stay hydrated, while fighting for their lives ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-year-has-reportedly-seen-a-spate-of-attacks-by-orcas-killer-whales-against-boats-in-the-strait-of-gibraltar/920611/109 "2024-07-23T15:41:20Z")
Very fascinating story and right up my alley. Thanks for sharing. Hope I never have to give myself a dirty water enema. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-year-has-reportedly-seen-a-spate-of-attacks-by-orcas-killer-whales-against-boats-in-the-strait-of-gibraltar/920611/110 "2024-07-23T16:05:28Z")
There are two kinds of people in the world… ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-year-has-reportedly-seen-a-spate-of-attacks-by-orcas-killer-whales-against-boats-in-the-strait-of-gibraltar/920611/111 "2024-09-04T17:05:24Z")
A new theory of why they are doing it: > **[Boat-ramming orcas may be using yachts as target practice toys, scientists...](https://www.livescience.com/animals/orcas/orcas-may-be-ramming-boats-as-target-practice-toys-scientists-suggest)** > > Experts have a new theory about why orcas are targeting sailboats in the Iberian Peninsula — they're using them to practice hunting their favorite food. Study at: > **[Killer whales habitat suitability in the Iberian Peninsula and the Gulf of...](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0964569124002308)** > > This study addresses existing gaps in our understanding of the ecology of killer whales by investigating their habitat use dynamics in the Atlantic co… In case you are wondering their favorite food is Atlantic bluefin tuna. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-year-has-reportedly-seen-a-spate-of-attacks-by-orcas-killer-whales-against-boats-in-the-strait-of-gibraltar/920611/112 "2024-09-04T19:07:01Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > In case you are wondering their favorite food is Atlantic bluefin tuna. Who can blame them? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2024, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-year-has-reportedly-seen-a-spate-of-attacks-by-orcas-killer-whales-against-boats-in-the-strait-of-gibraltar/920611/113 "2024-11-28T14:22:45Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Famously, some members of the Southern Resident orcas that cruise Washington’s Puget Sound each summer and fall spent the summer of 1987 wearing dead salmon on their head. There was no apparent reason for salmon hats to come in vogue in orca circles, but the behavior spread and persisted for a few months before disappearing again. The hat is back. > **[Wearing A Salmon On Your Head Is Back In Fashion For Orcas, After A 37-Year...](https://www.iflscience.com/wearing-a-salmon-on-your-head-is-back-in-fashion-for-orcas-after-a-37-year-break-76971)** > > In 1987, there was a strange trend amongst killer whales. Recent sightings show it's back in fashion. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-year-has-reportedly-seen-a-spate-of-attacks-by-orcas-killer-whales-against-boats-in-the-strait-of-gibraltar/920611/114 "2025-09-04T16:20:43Z")
> **['We completely freaked out': Orcas are attacking boats in Europe again](https://www.livescience.com/animals/orcas/we-completely-freaked-out-orcas-are-attacking-boats-in-europe-again)** > > Iberian orcas have damaged several boats off the coast of Spain in recent weeks, leaving authorities scrambling to rescue stranded crews. Yachts are also back on the menu, boys! ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2026, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-year-has-reportedly-seen-a-spate-of-attacks-by-orcas-killer-whales-against-boats-in-the-strait-of-gibraltar/920611/115 "2026-08-14T15:35:39Z")
Rich people are possibly fighting back. (is that fair? are all the people being rammed in their boats rich?) [Iberian orca known for ramming boats seen with suspected gunshot wounds | Whales | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/14/iberian-orca-known-for-ramming-boats-seen-with-suspected-gunshot-wounds?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=bluesky&CMP=bsky_gu) ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2026, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-year-has-reportedly-seen-a-spate-of-attacks-by-orcas-killer-whales-against-boats-in-the-strait-of-gibraltar/920611/116 "2026-08-14T15:41:38Z")
I knew this day would come. Oceans are now battlefields. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2026, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-year-has-reportedly-seen-a-spate-of-attacks-by-orcas-killer-whales-against-boats-in-the-strait-of-gibraltar/920611/117 "2026-08-14T16:03:19Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > Oceans are now battlefields. Is Napoleon master of Europe again? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2026, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-year-has-reportedly-seen-a-spate-of-attacks-by-orcas-killer-whales-against-boats-in-the-strait-of-gibraltar/920611/118 "2026-08-14T16:32:23Z")
I am loath to recommend anything from Shark Week, but there’s an episode this year “Jaws vs Orca” that has some interesting footage of killer whales attacking the research vessels. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-year-has-reportedly-seen-a-spate-of-attacks-by-orcas-killer-whales-against-boats-in-the-strait-of-gibraltar/920611.md?page=5)