Killer whales launch ‘orchestrated’ attacks on sailing boats

[a64pilot]

I doubt that they are hungry and trying to eat a boat, they are way smarter than that, smart enough I believe to figure out that the rudder is a weak spot and a boat can be disabled by tearing up a rudder.
I’d buy the seal on a ice float if they were ramming the boat, but it seems they are targeting the rudder and not ramming?

I’d also think a few M-80’s ought to run them off without harming them, M-80’s are water proof and will explode if thrown in the water. As big and tough as they are maybe a boat hook would just be ignored, but I’d give it a try.

I think they are just playing myself, we may be seen as stupid and slow, just begging to be picked on.

Pretty sure there was at least one Orca in Alaska area that did similar attacks, not sure why or if he stopped.

[wolfgal]

Originally Posted by Telesail

I understand the desire to do good. However, given that the majority of the fish consumed by humans have never seen the ocean, let alone “the wild”, I am not sure that this is the answer. Generally any answer to an environmental or ecological problem that relies on boycotting consumption of X has a whole bunch of negative unintended consequences compared to encouraging them to demand higher standards (think fashion brands realizing that their customers demand ethical production etc.)

point well taken...

for sure humans mess things up more as they attempt to fix what they've broken in the biosphere... the world is made up of complex systems, more complex than most humans can begin to contemplate. true


would most of us agree on this?

for the orca to show anger means something is up.

i would feel so utterly disheartened if officials took to shooting at these great sea creatures or take some other form of punitive action and imagine that most sailors, most of us, who have experienced a magical moment with whales or dolphins, would as well.


this could be the moment to talk about overfishing, about how huge nets that can bring up pods of orcas at a time, about how human activity (milton freedman style: profit at all costs, above everything else) is making things go from worse to worst...

we could also discuss what we do know of orcas. if i recall correctly, there are the loner male orcas and the pods, which are matriarchal. beyond being highly intelligent and living up to 80 years, they are said to have personalities and have been known to get very angry (for good reason). recall Seaworld and that big story...

[owly]

Originally Posted by wolfgal

a hungry man is an angry man...

if they are starving (which seems likely, given overfishing) and are met with humans with guns, we all lose.

anyone know how to explain to millions if not billions of humans that the solution is to boycott fish?

The solution ultimately is to boycott parenthood.....

[owly]

Originally Posted by Captain Puget

Orcas have very highly deleloped sonar and hearing. I suspect the boats in question were playing rap with over amped bass 😉

I'd ram them too!!

[garyfdl]

They free'd Willy, now he's back...

[Cheechako]

Good.... they are finally fighting back!

[taxwizz]

If my boat were being attacked, and I was fearing for my safety, I would wish to have some sort of harpoon aboard. If it came down to Them or Me, I would try to make it Them.

[Halam]

Maybe it would help to heave too and turn off everything electrical. Play dead. If it was my boat maybe I wouldn't be so calm but to have thought through some strategies before an encounter must help. Besides 'run' and 'play dead', what are the other options? Dump some food? Or the dinghy?

[taxwizz]

Originally Posted by Halam

Maybe it would help to heave too and turn off everything electrical. Play dead. If it was my boat maybe I wouldn't be so calm but to have thought through some strategies before an encounter must help. Besides 'run' and 'play dead', what are the other options? Dump some food? Or the dinghy?

I think that dumping food would just encourage them.
"Bump the boat, get food."
And they would tell their friends.

[Snore]

Guys these animals are smarter than many boaters!

Turning off the engine is not the solution. Look at the reports. They turned two boats 180. The orcas did not want the boat to proceed in that direction. Was the vessel heading towards a pod, or injured animal?

It would be interesting to hear an interview of these sailors by a competent marine biologist.

These are intelligent animals, we need to understand why an intelligent animal is attacking- both the animal and us know the attacks are not done for food.

[owly]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Good.... they are finally fighting back!

I'm wondering about communication.... Obviously none of speak Orc. However most animals are responsive to human voice and emotion, especially mammals, but even birds and insects respond. Communicating the fact that you are not a threat to them by some audio means could perhaps be effective...who knows? Responses like the suggested M80 might be counter productive and endanger others.

One would think that intelligent as they are, they are able to distinguish between the kinds of boats that are a threat, and those that are not, but perhaps sailboats are the easiest mark, perceived as being innocuous and helpless, and as such are the obvious targets in response to rage against humans for whatever reasons.... and there are plenty. Humans are the same way.... developing prejudices against minorities based on negative encounters with one or a few members of that race. As a species we are destroying life in the seas wholesale, causing climate change, destroying land environments, etc. We are massively destructive everywhere we go.

They aren't attacking freighters... for obvious reasons, or large fishing vessels for the same obvious reasons. Would they go so far as to attack a man in the water? A life raft? Is this "play" or outright malice and hostility? What is the basis?


Humans are the top predators in the food chain, and we share that spot with other apex predators. Where I live we have a number of species of potentially dangerous apex predators, and the practice of hunting them maintains a healthy fear factor. Lions don't eat joggers here ;-). I was thankful for this a number of years ago when hiking solo far back in the high country in snow. I felt the hair stand up on the back of my neck, though I could not see or hear anything. I don't ignore that EVER. I suspected a lion, and shortly after I rounded a bend in the trail, I spun and charged back down the trail at a dead run, surprising the animal and driving it off. It was a mountain lion, and returning, I found that she had been stalking me for a significant distance. Her fear of humans combined with my aggressive charge saved the day for me. I say "her" because I think I knew the lion and she knew me, I'd seen her several times with cubs near my cabin. Bear encounters are different... Your response has to be based on situational awareness.



The point here is should we respond in ways to make orcas fear us when this happens? or should we try to calm them? And how does that effect the victim of the next encounter? I don't like being violently bullied, and tend to respond with shocking violence out of proportion... My gut reaction to this would be violence... A rifle or a flare pistol, or a dose of bear spray when they blow, but that might be the exact wrong reaction



This really is a situation that calls for research... sending sailboats out specifically to fish for such a situation. We can't communicate with them and understand why, but it is possible we could determine how to diffuse the situation.... or if it is possible or not.

[MicHughV]

I did an orca viewing trip off the coast of Vancouver Island one year....it was interesting and informative....there are pods that remain in the area year round and others that come and visit for a while.......each pod is it's own "family" so to speak...we were told that orcas can sleep while swimming.....so a collision with a "sleeping" orca is quite possible...our orca guide maintained a safe distance from these pods at all times...despite pleas to get closer....

they are also very protective of their young, my theory would be that perhaps a young orca was hurt or killed by a boat, just my theory, prompting the attack on boats...

I've heard of orca's attacking sharks...even whales......and Seaworld had an orca attack on a trainer....some years back a rtw voyager was rammed by orca's and sunk....off the coast of South African is a well recorded video of a whale trying to sink a sailboat...

in others words, they can get pissed off.....coupled with some intellect, and some serious size, who knows what they are capable of....

me.....I'd try to get away somehow....definitely keep the engine running...make for a spot opposite from the direction the orca is coming from...let the orca know you are leaving this particular spot.....who knows ???

[Scorpius]

Many years ago there were reports of Orca attacks of sailboats near the Galapagos Islands. I remember at the time thinking this was probably the aberrant behavior of a single whale or pod. So the current situation is not unique.



Considering the thousands of orcas in the oceans of the world this is indeed exceedingly rare behavior. But who can blame them? In the 1950's and 60's the Canadian Department of Fisheries mounted a machine gun on the bow of a patrol boat (the Laurier) with the express mission to kill orcas, whale sharks, and basking sharks, all deemed harmful to the salmon fishing industry. They pretty well exterminated whale and basking sharks: easy targets.

[a64pilot]

I think it interesting that some immediately suppose they are “attacking” and are angry, starving etc.
I’d bet you have a couple of mischievous teen agers and sailboats are an easy mark is all.
They really are intelligent and “playing” with things and even being destructive is not just a human thing, Dolphins for example have long been known to be so.
Orca’s have even been seen “playing” with smaller anchored boats, dragging them around by their rode etc.
I’ve never heard of a pod of Orca’s being caught in a net, has this really happened? I know occasionally a single one gets caught in fishing gear, but a whole pod?

[Mike OReilly]

It's interesting that the article only references encounters with sailboats. Are there no motocruisers around? Are sailboats easier to catch? More vulnerable? Or is there something about sailboats that are somehow more annoying to these animals?


Fascinating...