A gang of boat-ramming orcas struck again, sinking a sailboat off the coast of Portugal. A viral video on social media shows orcas circling the boat and repeatedly ramming their bodies into it. Eventually, they disabled the boat. It sank, and the people on board required rescue.
Videos by Outdoors
The incident, which took place on September 13 in the waters off Costa da Caparica, is just the latest in a string of incidents over the past several years in which orcas attacked boats in and around the Strait of Gibraltar. Experts aren’t 100% sure why orcas in this area are practicing this behavior, but it’s likely this is social learning at its finest.
[RELATED: Orcas’ Boat-Ramming Behavior Explained by Experts]
In an interview with Outdoors.com, Dr. Bec Wellard noted that orcas in the Strait of Gibraltar frequently approach boats looking for free fish. Dr. Wellard is a research scientist and founder and head of research for Project ORCA.
“Killer whales are incredibly intelligent, exhibit culture, and show learned behavior,” Wellard explained. “In this instance, social learning may have occurred, where it started with either one or a few individual orcas exhibiting this type of interaction with boats and has now spread to others.”
Watch orcas sinking a sailboat here:
Here’s a news report sharing the same video:
Header stock image by Stephanie Racine/Getty Images
