A strange phenomenon is happening off the coast of the Iberian Peninsula: endangered orcas are attacking and sinking boats.
While it hasn’t been determined what exactly is causing these coordinated attacks, some researchers speculate that “one orca had a traumatic encounter with a sailboat and has taught others in the pod how to attack.”
These attacks have been ongoing since 2020 – with nearly 500 reported encounters.
Although orcas are not typically threatening to humans, the repeated incidents, the property damage, and potential threat to human safety make it clear something serious could be causing these attacks.
The European Maritime Safety Agency can make a difference by working with marine biologists, local authorities, and international organizations to get to the heart of this matter.
We need to figure out the motivations behind this behavior, develop safe navigation protocols to avoid encounters with orcas, and raise awareness within the maritime community about these attacks.
Please sign this petition to urge the European Maritime Safety Agency to investigate why these attacks keep happening.
This article by Mathew Davis was first published by OneGreenPlanet on 7 June 2023.
What you can do
Support ‘Fighting for Wildlife’ by donating as little as $1 – It only takes a minute. Thank you.
Fighting for Wildlife supports approved wildlife conservation organizations, which spend at least 80 percent of the money they raise on actual fieldwork, rather than administration and fundraising. When making a donation you can designate for which type of initiative it should be used – wildlife, oceans, forests or climate.
Leave a Reply