Killer Whales Keep Attacking French Sailboats Without Explanation

Written by Sarah Psaradelis
Updated: September 2, 2023
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Scientists are baffled by the recent behavior of killer whales. In July, a pod of orcas attacked a yacht belonging to 27-year-old Ester Kristine Storkson, a Norwegian medical student, and her father. The family was sailing off the coast of France when Ester was awoken by loud sounds. Ester and her father were heading to Madeira, which is off the northwest coast of Africa.

When Ester awoke, she ran onto the deck to see what was causing the disturbance. She found that the yacht was surrounded by a pod of killer whales. The large animals appeared to be ramming the side of the boat. This caused the yacht’s steering wheel to spin widely, indicating that the yacht’s rudder was incurring damage. After 15 minutes, the pod swam off, and Ester and her father were able to examine the boat for damage. Using a GoPro camera, they found that nearly half of the rudder was damaged. They would not be able to complete their journey and needed to stop along the French coast for repairs.

orcas

For the past two years, a pod of orcas (killer whales) has been attacking sailboats off the coast of France.

©slowmotiongli/Shutterstock.com

Other Attacks

This was not the first attack from killer whales that experts were made aware of. A month prior to Ester’s experience, two boats sunk off the coast of Portugal due to orca activity. A sailor named Martin Evans noticed that his boat’s steering wheel was spinning uncontrollably. He knew that the boat’s rudder and propeller were taking damage. When he peered down, he noticed the distinguishing white and black markings of a killer whale. He also saw damaged metal parts floating in the water.

What is quite noticeable about these attacks is that the rudder or boat’s propeller seems to be the target, with killer whales causing the most damage to this area.

What Do Scientists Say?

So far, scientists can only assume that the attackers are the same pod of killer whales. These strange encounters have been engaging scientists’ and sailors’ interest for the last two years. Interesting, the frequency of attacks is increasing.

This is evoking fear in the sailing community, especially since no one knows the reason for these attacks or how to prevent them. People have even created a social media group to discuss their orca experiences and share prevention strategies. 

Renaud de Stephanis, the president coordinator of Spain’s Conservation Information and Research (CIRCE), doesn’t understand why these events are happening. However, he has some theories. The killer whales seem to only be attacking the rudder or propellers. These moving objects underwater cause changes in water pressure. It is possible that the water pressure is an irritation to the killer whales, prompting their attack. Alternatively, they may see the rudder as a toy to be played with.

The play theory is supported by the fact that these destructive killer whales are juvenile males. In fact, most of the killer whale populations off the Portuguese and Spanish coast are young males. For this reason, scientists believe the juveniles could be responsible for these coordinated attacks. De Stephanis hopes that these juvenile males will outgrow this behavior soon and begin working with their pod to hunt for food rather than playing with boats.

The pod may think attacking the boats is a game!

©Pittman – Public Domain – License

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Andrea Izzotti/Shutterstock.com


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About the Author

Sarah is a writer at A-Z Animals primarily covering aquatic pets, rodents, arachnids, and reptiles. Sarah has over 3 years of experience in writing and researching various animal topics. She is currently working towards furthering her studies in the animal field. A resident of South Africa, Sarah enjoys writing alongside her pets and almost always has her rats perched on her shoulders.

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Sources
  1. NPR, Available here: https://www.npr.org/2022/08/20/1117993583/orcas-attacks-spain-portugal-killer-whales