Orcas sink yet another yacht in the Strait of Gibraltar

globalnews.ca:

A pod of orcas rammed another yacht sailing through the Strait of Gibraltar until it began taking on water and sank.

This latest incident is just one of nearly 700 interactions between orcas and boats around the Iberian peninsula since 2020, when researchers took notice of this troubling trend.

Last year there was a litany of headlines about orcas sinking ships, spawning theories about how the apex predators could be exacting revenge against humans or teaching their young how to hunt by toying with ships. No one knows for sure why there has been an uptick in orcas ramming boats. The incidents are mostly localized around Spain and Portugal, where a subspecies called the Iberian Orca makes its home.

Sunday’s incident occurred in Moroccan waters in the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain’s maritime rescue service told Reuters, where an unknown number of orcas began ramming a small, 15-metre sailing yacht around 9 a.m. local time.

Two people were onboard the vessel, called the Alboran Cognac, and they radioed for help. The unnamed boaters reported feeling sudden blows to the hull and rudder of the ship before their vessel started taking on water.

A nearby oil tanker redirected to their location, picked up the two boaters and transported them to Gibraltar. The Alboran Cognac was left adrift and eventually sank, Reuters reports.

The Atlantic Orca Working Group, also called GTOA, which researches Iberian orca populations, said scientists began noticing “disruptive” behaviour emerging in 2020, characterized by mostly juvenile orcas pushing sailboats with their noses, turning boats around.

Fifty-two interactions between orcas and boats were recorded in 2020, but since then, the number of interactions has climbed each year. In 2022, there