[Animals] Dozens of killer whales are attacking European ships without control and scientists don't know why

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Smashing the rudders of ships in Europe, killer whales are exhibiting behavior never before seen in the seas.
From France to Portugal to Spain, ships in Europe are facing a new apex predator: killer whales. In a way never seen before, they are ripping the rudders off ships and chasing sailors off shore, according to local media reports.

Orcas are targeting yachts, rafts and sailboats alike. After circling them for several minutes, they mount the boats and flip them over. Sometimes, they even bite the parts that are at hand and destroy them completely. They were "crashing the boat," Ester Kristine Storkson, a yacht owner, tells NPR. "They [hit] us repeatedly... giving us the impression that it was a coordinated attack."

It would not be strange if, indeed, these ambushes were premeditated. This is the reason.
Underwater noise pollution generated by human activity directly interferes with whales and other aquatic mammals with sophisticated hearing and echolocation systems. The same happens with the oceanic reptiles that, unaccustomed to the traffic and the noise of the ships, have been completely deaf in some cases.

In this context, it would be natural that orcas are reacting to ships in the seas of Europe. From their first years of life, these whales learn hunting tactics from their grandmothers and how to defend themselves against the hostilities of the environment. It would not be unusual for killer whales, listening to the engines of boats in Europe, to seek to silence the noise on the surface.

She also reads: Noise pollution is causing deafness in sea turtles

No one knows why they do it
Several theories have been proposed to explain this behavior. One of them suggests that, according to Renaud de Stephanis, president and coordinator of CIRCE Conservation Information and Research, killer whales enjoy the pressure of the water produced by the propellers of ships:

"WHAT WE BELIEVE IS THAT THEY ARE ASKING TO GIVE THEM THE PROPELLER IN THE FACE", EXPLAINS THE SPECIALIST, BASED ON THE PROPOSALS OF HIS RESEARCH TEAM. THEN, WHEN THEY ENCOUNTER A SAILBOAT THAT DOESN'T START ITS ENGINE, "THEY GET A LITTLE FRUSTRATED AND THAT'S WHY THEY BREAK THE RUDDER."

However, this does not explain why whales are hunting sailboats as well. In the absence of conclusive evidence, scientists admit they don't know why they are behaving aggressively towards European vessels. Especially since they do it when there is still a crew on board, with violent attacks that have even flipped ships.

So far, there are no reports of killer whales eating people on boats in Europe. The strangest thing is that all the killer whales are young specimens. For this reason, scientists do not rule out that they are only "playing" with the boats, in increasingly larger groups.

https://www.ngenespanol.com/animales/por-que-las-orcas-estan-atacando-embarcaciones-en-europa/