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What’s behind the recent ‘orca uprising’?

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During the last few months, a spate of killer whale attacks on boats has fuelled concern among scientists and speculation on social media that the cetaceans could be trying to fight back. But are they?

Where were you when the ‘orca wars’ began? This is a question currently making the rounds on social media, in light of news that killer whales have been deliberately attacking and sinking boats off the coast of Gibraltar.

Although the first spike was reported in 2020, these encounters have continued to grow ever since (jumping from 52 to over 200) and are happening almost every day, with around 20 ambushes taking place in the last month alone.

‘There were two smaller orcas and one larger,’ skipper Werner Schaufelberger told German magazine Yacht following one of the more extreme events on May 4.

‘The little ones shook the rudder at the back while the big one repeatedly backed up and rammed the boat with full force from the side.’

Sparking a wave of memes across TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter, many view the incidents as evidence nature is fighting back, defending itself after decades of abuse by shipping, fishing, and military industries.

https://twitter.com/roxiqt/status/1659742246973964289?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1659742246973964289%7Ctwgr%5Efa78e0c9ed11a2b2bfc297ab7f4f882d8aecde24%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fiframe.nbcnews.com%2FvbYDyCF%3F_showcaption%3Dtrueapp%3D1

‘I’m joining the human versus orca wars on the side of the orcas. They’re the buff bodyguards of the oceans,’ joked one user.

‘If you’re a killer whale reading this, I’m on your side. I fear the sea and have never been to marineland,’ said another.

Yet while it’s certainly plausible that the cetaceans – which are renowned for being territorial  – are seeking revenge, this kind of behaviour isn’t all that out of the ordinary.

According to sailors and documented in a 2022 study, they’ve been doing this for years, the difference now being that it’s thought to be in response to a traumatising clash with a female orca named Gladis Blanca.

This, at least, is what has been theorised by several media outlets, which have framed the ‘critical moment of agony’ she suffered during a collision with a vessel as the catalyst for these types of frequent interactions. Experts, however, aren’t so sure.

‘They clearly find a lot of pleasure in these encounters,’ says Andrew Trites, director of the Marine Mammal Research Unit at the University of British Columbia in Canada.

‘They’re probably socializing, yucking it up with each other about their adventures without realizing the terror they’re creating in their moments of joy.’

As Trites explains, because killer whales are capable of complex emotions, their innate curiosity and playfulness is most likely what’s behind the ‘attacks.’

‘From the orca’s perspective, I don’t think it’s aggressive,’ he adds.

‘Just because it feels and looks very dramatic to us doesn’t mean it is dramatic for them.’

Highlighting the importance of recognising this, Trites asserts that the endangered species is merely engaging in the underwater equivalent of a hot new trend and that we should leave them to their own devices rather than villainise them.

Otherwise, he says, people may take the situation into their own hands and use harmful tactics to try and stop them, which would of course be detrimental to the wider ecosystem.

With interactions between people and wild animals to be expected amid rapid population growth worldwide, he recommends minimising the impact on their environment instead.

‘All of this has to make us reflect on the fact that human activities, even in an indirect way, are at the origin of this behaviour,’ says Dr Alfredo López Fernandez of The Grupo Trabajo Orca Atlántica (Atlantic Orca Working Group), echoing Trites’ sentiment.

Perhaps, then, it’s best we start there?

Feature Media Manager & Senior Writer London, UK

Sofia (She/Her) – I’m the Deputy Editor & Media Partnership Manager at Thred, specialising in exclusive articles and live interviews, fashion and beauty with a focus on sustainability, women’s rights, psychedelics, and Latin America. I studied Spanish at the University of Exeter and International Journalism at City, London. Follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn, and drop me some ideas/feedback via email.

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