Orcas ram and severely damage another boat. But a sailor onboard says stop ‘demonizing’ the ‘beautiful creatures.’

Tommy MalettaGreen Prosperity, Community Development Solutions, Sustainability News, Latest Headlines

By Isobel von Hagen, Insider

A whale swims next to a boat in the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain May 24, 2023, in this still image obtained from a social media video/

A whale swims next to a boat in the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain May 24, 2023, in this still image obtained from a social media video. April Boyes/Instagram@april_georgina/via REUTERS

Orcas severely damaged a yacht off the coast of Spain in the latest dramatic encounter between orcas and boats in the region. One of the sailors urged people to stop “‘demonizing” the marine animals.

Earlier this week, a pod of orcas rammed into the Mustique, destroying the yacht’s rudder and piercing the hull. Reuters reported the crew later called Spanish authorities for assistance, a spokesman for the maritime rescue service said.

In a now-deleted Instagram video, one of the sailors on the 60-foot vessel posted footage of the encounter, where she could be heard saying, “It’s like they are biting it apart,” according to The Times. April Boyes, 31, described the orcas “tearing off bits of the boat” for an hour.

In a post on her blog, Boyes wrote a first-hand account of the event — describing the boat filling with water, as the killer whales “completely destroyed” the rudder causing a “gaping hole,” despite the crew trying to distract the animals with “non-harmful deterrents.”

After authorities responded to the crew’s Mayday call with a rapid-response vessel and helicopter assistance, the boat was towed to a port in Spain for repairs, per Reuters.

In an Instagram post on Saturday, Boyes added that interactions with orcas can be “quite terrifying.” But, she said, “As an advocate for marine life and the protection of our oceans, I don’t condone demonizing the orcas.”

Boyes urged that more research into the “beautiful creatures” needs to be done, especially as the attacks are increasingly common.

“As a crew, we are not traumatized and everyone acted in a professional manner, and we were all safe. I am sailing again today, and whilst it was a challenging experience, we have all taken something away from it,” she wrote.

A traumatic event could have triggered the boat attacks
image of a pod of orcas swimming above water
Orcas swimming in a pod in Southeast Alaska. 
Ron Sanford/Getty Images

According to GTOA, a research group that tracks populations of the Iberian orca subspecies, at least 20 interactions in the Strait of Gibraltar have been recorded this month, per Reuters. Last year, 207 interactions were reported, GTOA data showed.

Scientists have been examining the recent phenomenon of orcas attacking boats in the Iberian peninsula. One theory suggests that one female orca named White Gladis may have experienced a traumatic event that triggered a change in her behavior to attack sailboats. Other orcas in the area could be imitating her actions, Insider previously reported.

Other experts, however, believe the encounters with the highly-social creatures may just be “playful.”

While many of these interactions are harmless, there have been several instances of orcas sinking boats off the Iberian coast in recent months.