The Cruisers Association has issued a precautionary warning for killer whales, whose attacks on boats peak between April and September. The Portuguese coast deserves attention. The aim is to minimize the risk of encountering a group of 50 individuals between the Bay of Biscay and the Strait of Gibraltar, of which 15 exhibit unique behaviour. Since 2020, they have attacked 456 sailing ships (four sank), a third of which (142) off the coast of Portugal, causing damage to the ships. This year, four records have already been recorded – the last one was recorded on the 22nd of this month near Figueira da Foz. The lifeboat “Patrão Moisés Macatrão” was called to assist a trimaran sailboat with two people on board, which became out of control (broken rudder) after being attacked by a killer whale. The damaged sailing ship was towed to the port of Figueira da Foz. Scientists still don’t know for sure why killer whales behave this way, suspecting it may be a form of play, which is why they talk about interactions rather than attacks. It is known, however, that the initial interactions carried out by a small group of young killer whales are now carried out by a larger group of animals. According to marine biologist Elio Vicente, these incidents “are not related to predator behavior,” especially because the killer whales’ biosonar “allows them to know very well that the object is not food.” The possibility that there would be a “negative reaction” because some of these animals may have been “rammed with vessels” is “unlikely,” he stresses. Hélio Vicente emphasizes that the killer whales’ attack is “always aimed at the rudder” of the ships, with which they then play. And they have already discovered that “the toy is easy to take away.”
Mammals in all oceans
The killer whale is the second mammal with the largest geographic distribution on the planet, just after humans.
A subpopulation of Iberian killer whales migrates north from the Strait of Gibraltar in the summer in search of tuna.