Killer whales launch ‘orchestrated’ attacks on sailing boats

[Lazy1]

I would think they would have some success rate if it was a hunt for food. I would lean toward self or pod defense.

[Alistair242]

Originally Posted by Lazy1

I would think they would have some success rate if it was a hunt for food. I would lean toward self or pod defense.

Agreed. Those who suggest they mistake boats for whales or other food items greatly underestimate the intelligence of these creatures.
The onus really is on humans to restore the balance in the oceans that we alone as a species have disrupted and not on sea creatures to learn to adapt to man made ecological destruction. That concept is ludicrous!
We clearly need to take steps to protect this and all other pods of orcas, all whales actually. I fail to understand how any seafaring people could see it differently.

[Manateeman]

Please read post #75 carefully. A shrimper came to see me once. Captain, there is a hurt manatee near the jetties...I started to get ready and call the Federal manatee guys...then I asked the shrimper...how badly hurt is the manatee...did you see it...oh yes, he said...it’s hurt and all the other manatees are gathered around it protecting it from the boats.
Took me a minute to figure it out.
Mr. Shrimper ..thanks for stopping by but you see they are mammals.
One girl a few randy boys. May no he said. True story...thus revisit post 75.
No one was “attacked”.
The family might have been a female in an “attractive way”...let’s be discreet.
The remaining manatees, all male including large older manatees and juveniles who appeared to be youngsters.
Manatee mating is rather a raucous affair. And along comes someone to the party uninvited. You have a few 1000 pound boys and one female who might be just tired of dancing. Pushing and shoving, rolling and thrashing. As the song plays: There’s a whole lot of shaking going on.
No one was attacked. Manatees don’t attack anything.
This is how humans transfer human character to animals.
It’s an anthropomorphism.
Nice funny story but not science.
It does prove how Orca attacks sailboat becomes news and not sailboat guilty of attack on orcas...fight follows...judge jails participating parties.
I thank the person who wrote post #75. He is genuine and was probably very frightened...with good reason. It takes a number of very strong people to get a manatee in a rescue blanket. I did not in any way wish to make light of his story.
This is simply a fine illustration of how easily facts can appear differently.
People in boats hurt manatees not the other way round.
Happy trails to you.
Captain Mark and his frisky beer drinking manatee gang.

[mjgriffin007]

Rabid orcas. It’s the only explanation.....

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

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?

One of the very first orca captured was accidentally caught when a drifting salmon gillnet (which had broken loose from its fishboat) got hung up on a couple of reefs across the mouth of a bay, trapping an orca inside. Because the eyesight of an orca is very poor underwater, it does most of its seeing using "echolocation" (sonar). To them, a fishing net "looks like" (sounds like) a solid wall so they don't try to go through it and stay trapped. Because of this phenomenon orcas have been kept in net pens in the ocean in many parts of the world. One such pen was used in Victoria harbour (BC, Canada) many years ago to hold three whales. A group of environmental activists went SCUBA diving one night and cut a hole in the net big enough (they thought) to allow the whales to escape. Two got out but the biggest one got stuck in the hole and drowned causing a HUGE PR stink for the perpetrators. However it was, I think, the galvanizing event that led to the ongoing worldwide campaign to free captive orcas and not try to catch more.


That first whale trapped behind the net was caught near the commercial fishing village of Namu on the northern BC coast. Consequently it was named "Namu" and was sold to Sea World San Diego where it was renamed "Shamu". Since then all Sea World orcas have been named "Shamu" in order to minimize public outcry when one dies and has to be replaced.


After the fisherman who caught Namu made a fortune selling her to Sea World, when a pod of orcas came into Pender Harbour (BC) a couple of local fisherman thought they would see what they could do. They took their boats out and surrounded the pod with gillnets. Several of the whales escaped but three were trapped and held in Garden Bay until they too were sold and shipped out.


Yes, orcas can be caught in nets. I have no doubt the huge seiners used by the fishing fleets of many nations on the high seas catch many orcas (along with dolphins, porpoises, turtles, etc.) - but as it's not in the captors' interest to publicize these events, they don't - and we never hear of them.

[Manateeman]

Rabies can occur in any mammal but since it is carried by land animals the chances are pretty slim any marine mammal would be bitten and thus infected.
Manatees have excellent immune systems and very thick skin. Orcas don’t eat land animals so they have little chance of being bitten by a rabid anything.
The only rabid mammals are the ones carrying video cameras looking for fame and fortune. Except Bloggers Ken, Barbie and the cat on their boat singing the Wind is free, poop in the sea , send us money.
Happy trails to you.
Captain Mark and his air pollutant manatees.

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by ArmyDaveNY

There was one report of the pod attacking a Navy vessel of around 36feet but alas I don't remember where this report was. I will try to find it.

Edit: The naval vessel was also a sail boat. Perhaps the engine noises of power boats deter the Orcas, thus the attacks on sail boats. Or it is possible that power boats are moving too quickly, or are not around in the numbers the sail boats are in the attack areas.

Orcas can do around 30 knots. Most pleasure power boats can't. If an orca wished to "attack" a power boat it could, no problem. I suspect they stay away from the noise. Also the rudder on a power boat is usually very close to the (always spinning) propeller. They are smart enough to stay away from something that might hurt them.

[kev_rm]

Probably just annoyed by the vibrations of those 2&3 cyl yanmars. Can't blame em.

[Don C L]

Well, it appears they understand Spanish insults for one thing.
And are they targeting spade rudders? Clearly they are expressing their preference for traditional hulls. And by the way, what music was on? Be sure its only Enya. (Do a search here about whales attacking boats playing the wrong music!)

https://echopen.wordpress.com/2008/0...nd-scientists/

[jimbunyard]

Leaving aside all the anthropomorphic attribution, I'd say until we see them 'attack' a full-keel, skeg-hung-ruddered boat, they're either teaching their young to hunt a non-evasive, inedible 'prey', or the assaults are carried out by young too inexperienced to realize the boats aren't.

Though one would have to wonder what was wrong with their taste buds...perhaps the animals opportunistic feeding habits (yes, even including land mammals) may somewhat explain that.

In case some miss the point, the similarity of a spade rudder to the pectoral fin, or even a tail fluke, of a relatively common prey animal, baleen whales, is striking indeed.

[Joefiss]

Clearly the Great Lakes are far more conducive to enjoyable sailing than the salt water environs. Nothing here is going to eat or play with you or your boat.

[El Pinguino]

Normal behaviour for Orcas.... unusual diet...

https://www.theguardian.com/environm...bay-california

Lots out there about how they deal with grey whales and their calves.

As stated above they appear to be juveniles.... the elders have that evil looking fin with the floppy top...

[atoll]

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?

how do you know it was a man whale?

Whales are mammals right

It might have been an angry lady whale with PMS

[Greg K]

Reminds me of the Butlers" experience back in the late 80's when their 40 ft wooden sailboat was attacked and sunk by whales on route from Panama to Hawaii. In their case, the whales continued to hit the boat broadside until the hull couldn't take it any more and began to take on water and sink. Bill Butler wrote a book about the sinking and the 66 days he and his wife spent in a liferaft before being rescued by fishermen off the coast of Mexico. Don't remember if they were Orcas or not, but when I spoke with Bill in 2002, he said that the pod had quite a few young whales and that the adults" aggressive behavior was probably protective/defensive. The title of the book is Our Last Chance. An excellent read.

[south4320]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

some years ago...I was paddling around on the ICW on a paddle ski (a surfboard you can paddle) near a restaurant that fronted on the ICW. Next to the restaurant was a small creek and a parking lot. I noticed a lot of people standing around in the parking lot looking at something.
That something was a family of manatee's in the small creek....with young...I could not say how many...a dozen perhaps. All I could see were their backs.
Thinking these to be harmless creatures, I paddled over for a closer look...mind you, the water was murky, typical ICW brown with zero visibility and I wasn't likely to see anything, but I paddled over anyway..
As I got close to this group of manatees, this large shape suddenly detached from the group and made for me with unbelievable speed. Before I knew what was happening, this manatee leapt out of the water and threw itself over the back of my paddle ski and sent me flying....the crowd standing on the parking lot screaming their heads off.
I don't know how I managed to clamber back on my paddle ski, as the next few seconds was a blur, but I did, and with every bit of energy I had, I made straight for the parking lot, paddling like a madman....which was maybe 20' away..where there was a small rickety dock. The crowd of people in the parking lot were yelling at me "he's right behind you"...I literally threw myself onto this dock, as that manatee made one more effort to destroy me and my paddle ski.

Was I frightened...off course....I was imagining this 500 lb manatee pushing me into the mud.....rolling over me and drowning me....

I later found out that manatee's can have quite a burst of speed....20 knots...

Nonetheless...manatee's...orca's...whales, with young should be considered armed and dangerous...and since that day, I have studiously tried my best to avoid any encounter with these mammals.....

I don't believe these animals will wantonly attack you or your boat without some underlying reason......I don't know what the correct escaping technique to be, but I'm inclined to think changing course, if possible, might provide an option, as it may give the impression you are leaving the area post haste....or use a zig-zag course...????

Me, I'd have the engine running at full blast....I'd pick a heading directly opposite to where I would see these creatures first...and hope I was making the right decision...oh yeah...a steel hull would be nice too...

You should have posted this on the joke thread, Its much funnier than some of the jokes