Killer whale attacks on small boats have multiplied in recent months. A phenomenon that scientists find difficult to interpret.
The terrifying scene took place 170 km off the coast of Brest in early August. Ester Kristine Størkson, a 27-year-old medical student, and her father are sailing peacefully aboard a small sailboat. From Norway, their country of origin, they head to Madeira, a long journey, but only a stopover for the two experienced sailors, who embark on a world tour with their Malö 37, which is around twelve meters long. As she dozes, Ester is awakened by a massive blow to the torso, followed by several others just as severe.
The young woman and her father quickly grasp the situation and the danger that threatens them: a group of killer whales has decided to attack their boat. They are five, including a very young one, quite numerous and strong enough to sink their boat. The attack is incredibly violent: the killer whales manage to turn the ship 180 degrees. “They struck regularly, it really felt like a coordinated attack,” Ester says on her Facebook page. She is about to have a panic attack: “I said to my father: ‘I can’t think straight anymore, so you have to think for me.’ Luckily he is a very calm and focused person, he calmed me down by calmly talking to me about our situation.
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The attack lasted a quarter of an hour
The duo immediately follows the recommended instructions in this extraordinary but not unprecedented type of event: they turn off the sonar suspected of disturbing the whales and make them aggressive, they reduce the genoa, the sail in front of the boat, and try to lock the rudder in center position. But the killer whales rampage on either side of the rudder, which they reduce to fluff. The attack lasted fifteen minutes, probably the longest minutes of her life. Then, as suddenly as they came, the orcas leave, leaving father and daughter shocked but relieved. They dip a Gopro camera to inspect the damage. The rudder was badly damaged but the hull held up and they were able to navigate as best they could to Brest to repair their sailing boat.
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But the end of this story could have been more tragic: a few weeks earlier, two small ships were sunk by killer whales off Portugal. Fortunately, the passengers could be rescued in time. Why are these attacks worthy of a commando operation? The specialists of these whales are wondering. Until now, they assumed that just a handful of specially mounted orcas were the origin of all “encounters,” the term scientists prefer to that of attack. But, Renaud de Stephanis, president and coordinator of CIRCE, a Spain-based cetacean research group, concedes to npr.org: It is highly unlikely that the same animals were responsible for the incidents in Portugal and the attack on the Størksons’ boat.
The evidence to explain these behaviors is not yet very solid. One of them is surprising: Scientists believe that killer whales like the water pressure created by a ship’s propeller. “We think they love to feel the waves created by the propeller in their muzzle,” explains Renaud de Stephanis. When they come across a sailing boat whose engine isn’t running, they are a bit frustrated and take revenge on the rudder. A statement supported by Jared Towers, director of Bay Cetology, a research organization in British Columbia: “There’s something… that seems to be stimulating them,” he says.
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In reality, these horrific attacks could just be a game played by some wild teenage men, says Jared Towers: “These games sometimes hold their own for a while before disappearing. Orc society functions very much according to fashion. For example, in the 90’s, killer whales enjoyed killing fish and swimming upside down with their prey… It amused them for a while and then they moved on.