Killer Whales Teach Each Other To Sink Boats? Expert Says It Could Be a Temporary Fad, Not Adaptive Habit Among Orcas

(Photo: Pexels/Ivan Stecko)
Killer Whales Teach Each Other to Sink Boats? Expert Says It Could Be a Temporary Fad, Not Adaptive Habit Among Orcas

There have been multiple reports about orcas capsizing boats. It has prompted many to question why killer whales have been attacking ships, and one expert said it could just be a fad.

Killer Whales Capsizing Ships A Temporary Fad

Dr. Luke Rendell, who studies marine mammals' behavior, learning, and communication at the University of St. Andrews, weighed in on the orcas' recent habit of sinking boats or yachts. He wasn't sure about his response but was more inclined to believe it was a temporary fad.

Rendell told The Conversation that he could not give a definitive response to this issue since they don't know enough about killer whale motivations to do so. For biologists, figuring out how this habit evolved is a conundrum.

However, he believed it is unlikely to have evolved because it helped the whales survive in their habitat. He added that there aren't any obvious fitness-enhancing incentives like food, for example, which is what they mean when they say a characteristic is adaptive. They consider it adaptive when it directly aids the animal's ability to find food, mate, or raise offspring.

There are several reports of both individuals and groups of orcas exhibiting peculiar habits that don't seem to be adaptive, he added. There may be an adaptive benefit to convincing sea lions that you are a sea lion, too, rather than a voracious predator, but there is no evidence. These behaviors range from one group carrying dead salmon on their heads, which appeared to be a short-term fad, to another vocally mimicking sea lions.

The start and spread of these boat attacks currently fit the description of a "temporary fad," Rendell said, noting that he could not tell how long it would persist.

He added if there is an adaptive explanation; instead, he suspects that it has to do with how curiosity occasionally results in significant advancements regarding food sources that may be shared.

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Why Killer Whales Attack Ships, Boats, and Yachts?

In a previous report from Science Times, three killer whales attached a yacht and hit its rudder on May 4. The trio comprised one big and two smaller orcas, and they worked together to try to sink it. The smaller killer whales pierced the rudder while the bigger one rammed and backed the boat will full force.

The interviewer mentioned the reports indicating that a traumatized victim of a boat collision may have initiated the attack, and the killer whales united in self-defense.

Rendell said he found the theory plausible. He explained that it is not unusual for cetaceans, aquatic mammals like whales, dolphins, and porpoises, to consider collective self-defense. There are stories of sperm whales defending one another from orcas, for instance.

Since solidarity is more of a personal matter, they cannot fully comprehend whether this is happening without access to these animals' innermost mental processes.

Rendell can, however, mention a different cetacean doing the same. He says humpback whales reportedly defend seals and other animals from orcas. Robert Pitman, the scientist who led the analysis of this behavior, described it as "inadvertent altruism" based on the straightforward maxim, "When you hear a killer whale attack, go break it up."

These tales pose intriguing issues about why orcas attack boats that they cannot address. However, it's not out of the question that these orcas see people as their shared aggressors. It's also entirely plausible that they don't.

RELATED ARTICLE: Kiska, the World's Loneliest Orca, Is Facing a Situation 'Tantamount to Torture': What Does Being Held Captive Do to Orcas?

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