47 votes

Scientists figured out why orcas have been sinking boats for the last four years [turns out it's juveniles just having fun]

Posted by fefellama
Tags: biology.marine, ethology, orcas, whales.killer, maritime, ships, scientists, author.bronwyn thompson, source.newatlas
https://newatlas.com/biology/orcas-killer-whales-boats/

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Title
Orcas are still smashing up boats - and we've finally worked out why
Authors
Depositphotos
Published
May 28 2024
Word count
955 words

19 comments

  1. [8]
    fefellama
    Link
    Found this article super interesting after seeing all those reports in recent years about orcas sinking boats off the coast of Spain. Many people suspected it was some revenge for an orca that had...

    Found this article super interesting after seeing all those reports in recent years about orcas sinking boats off the coast of Spain. Many people suspected it was some revenge for an orca that had been injured by a yacht and so took revenge on it, then other killer whales copied the trend. Turns out that nope, just some teens dicking about. Article includes link to the research study that the information is based on.

    The report reveals that a combination of free time, curiosity and natural playfulness has led to young orcas adopting this 'trend' of boat-bumping, which is not at all surprising for a species that has been known to adopt odd, isolated behaviors from time to time.

    ... In recent years, a dramatic recovery in the population of bluefin tuna in the region has been a win for a group of about 40 critically endangered Iberian killer whales that feed exclusively on the large fish. This has meant they've cut down their time spent foraging, leaving space for other 'hobbies.'

    Conservation success stories leading to increased free time in young orcas, wild.

    Most of the 15 were male juveniles and teens, the "most curious and exploratory" of an orca population, suggesting that what started as playful head-bumping on boat rudders has escalated as the animals have grown larger. The team notes that this rudder-bumping behavior was observed around 2017, but the interactions didn't result in any boat damage. Now that the orcas are larger, their game has become a lot more powerful.

    And no orca over the age of 25 – when males are fully grown – has been seen participating in the tomfoolery. Scientists suspect younger orcas have seen older siblings playing with their rudder 'toys' and then copied.

    Kia Boys of the ocean.

    28 votes
    1. OBLIVIATER
      Link Parent
      Who amongst us didn't sink a few boats in our youth

      Who amongst us didn't sink a few boats in our youth

      30 votes
    2. [3]
      Fiachra
      Link Parent
      Hilarious that it started as playful bumping until the animal grew up into a 25 foot monster. Imagine if you taught your dog to fetch and three years later he was elephant sized and ripping power...

      Hilarious that it started as playful bumping until the animal grew up into a 25 foot monster. Imagine if you taught your dog to fetch and three years later he was elephant sized and ripping power lines out of the ground for fun.

      10 votes
      1. [2]
        updawg
        Link Parent
        Clifford always worked better as a horror story than as a children's book.

        Clifford always worked better as a horror story than as a children's book.

        17 votes
        1. digitalphil
          Link Parent
          I can just imagine the chaos when the rights expire on children's characters.

          I can just imagine the chaos when the rights expire on children's characters.

          1 vote
    3. [2]
      GunnarRunnar
      Link Parent
      This was the explanation I heard when I first came across these orca attacks. I thought "the revenge" was largely just a joke.

      This was the explanation I heard when I first came across these orca attacks. I thought "the revenge" was largely just a joke.

      4 votes
      1. fefellama
        Link Parent
        I think the revenge thing was not necessarily that the other orcas were out to try to get revenge or anything anthropomorphized like that. But the story I had heard was that one orca lashed out...

        I think the revenge thing was not necessarily that the other orcas were out to try to get revenge or anything anthropomorphized like that. But the story I had heard was that one orca lashed out against a boat that hit her and then the other orcas saw her shoving a boat and just tagged along. Then supposedly the trend took off.

        3 votes
    4. updawg
      Link Parent
      So then is it our responsibility to kill more tuna in order to prevent teen pregnancy in orcas?

      Conservation success stories leading to increased free time in young orcas, wild.

      So then is it our responsibility to kill more tuna in order to prevent teen pregnancy in orcas?

      3 votes
  2. [11]
    RheingoldRiver
    Link
    wild, i wonder how long until we can mimic the meaning "ow you're hurting me" in a way they can understand

    wild, i wonder how long until we can mimic the meaning "ow you're hurting me" in a way they can understand

    5 votes
    1. [4]
      Requirement
      Link Parent
      It would probably take less time than learning orca language enough to explain the concept of private property and willful destruction.

      It would probably take less time than learning orca language enough to explain the concept of private property and willful destruction.

      6 votes
      1. [3]
        RheingoldRiver
        Link Parent
        I think you'd be more trying to communicate, "I am a living creature like you, please stop hurting me" which is not that far from the truth

        I think you'd be more trying to communicate, "I am a living creature like you, please stop hurting me" which is not that far from the truth

        1. GenuinelyCrooked
          Link Parent
          I think if we could communicate those ideas to each other, they would probably have a lot more right to say it to us than we do to them.

          I think if we could communicate those ideas to each other, they would probably have a lot more right to say it to us than we do to them.

          4 votes
        2. sparksbet
          Link Parent
          Orcas are carnivorous and sometimes injure each other in fights (often play fights), so I don't think something being a living creature is gonna be the lynchpin in convincing them to stop...

          Orcas are carnivorous and sometimes injure each other in fights (often play fights), so I don't think something being a living creature is gonna be the lynchpin in convincing them to stop "playing" with these boats.

    2. [5]
      Kopper
      Link Parent
      We just need boats to be able to scream in pain whenever something hits them.

      We just need boats to be able to scream in pain whenever something hits them.

      4 votes
      1. Tigress
        Link Parent
        Seeing as orcas are hunters and I'm not sure they see the boats as one of their own that may just make it more fun for them.

        Seeing as orcas are hunters and I'm not sure they see the boats as one of their own that may just make it more fun for them.

        8 votes
      2. [3]
        Fiachra
        Link Parent
        Well parts snap off of them and they sink, I think that's a pretty clear indication no matter what species you are.

        Well parts snap off of them and they sink, I think that's a pretty clear indication no matter what species you are.

        4 votes
        1. [2]
          updawg
          Link Parent
          Unless you don't realize that it's alive.

          Unless you don't realize that it's alive.

          2 votes
          1. DefinitelyNotAFae
            Link Parent
            Because it isn't? 😅 You have to both communicate and lie at the same time.

            Because it isn't? 😅 You have to both communicate and lie at the same time.

            5 votes
    3. CannibalisticApple
      Link Parent
      Orcas have been noted by scientists to have their own regional languages and dialects, so I wonder if there actually is some specific call that could be recorded and played. Granted, it might just...

      Orcas have been noted by scientists to have their own regional languages and dialects, so I wonder if there actually is some specific call that could be recorded and played. Granted, it might just confuse the orcas and make them search for another injured orca. Though that would basically have the same end effect since they'd wander off...

      4 votes