What's with orcas targeting boats and will it happen here in Canada?

The world has watched this year as orcas in the North Atlantic have targeted boats at increasing rates, in some cases breaking off their rudders and causing them to sink.

The incidents are happening off the coast of Spain and Portugal, where three boats have been sunk this year. The phenomenon has sparked conversation around the world, including countless memes about a marine uprising and orcas taking revenge.

For Andrew Trites, director of the Marine Mammal Research Unit at the University of British Columbia, the brand-new behaviour is worth studying — but he doesn’t buy that the whales have some kind of nefarious agenda.

“We’ve not seen anywhere anything else quite like this. And it’s got everybody puzzled about what’s going on,” he told Daily Hive.

The incidents of whales targeting boats first started being reported in 2020, and Trites now says it’s a group of approximately 30 to 40 who may have picked up the behaviour. It’s a “very small, endangered” population that specializes in eating bluefin tuna.

Could the behaviour spread to BC?

Trites says the likelihood of orcas off the BC coast picking up the sailboat-targeting behaviour from the North Atlantic orcas isn’t just slim — it’s none.

In order to learn the behaviour, the orcas would have to interact. And they don’t.

Even off the BC Coast, Trites said Southern Residents and Transient orcas don’t interact or interbreed, even though their territories overlap.

Around the world, orca populations specialize in different food sources, with groups having distinct cultures. For example, off the BC coast, the Southern Resident orcas feed on Chinook salmon, the Transient orcas (also known as Bigg’s killer whales) feed on marine mammals, and Offshore orcas often eat sharks.

“They stick to themselves. And for this behaviour to spread, you’d have to have members of different pods sharing that experience and having others observe them doing it.”

But that’s not to say an orca off the BC coast could never bump into a boat. Close encounters with orcas do happen — just look at these kayakers who have shared their awe-inspiring run-ins.

“There always have been close encounters,” Trites said. “These are very large animals. They can swim very fast and can do damage, and certainly, if you’re in a kayak, you need to be careful that the whales are aware of your presence.”

An orca could develop an affinity for rubbing up against boats completely on their own. That was the case for an orca known as Luna, who became separated from its pod and began rubbing against boats off the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Luna was struck and killed by a tug in 2006.

What’s to be done about orcas targeting boats off Europe?

There’s no record of a wild orca ever killing a human. But being on a boat that orcas are purposefully bumping against could certainly be scary.

Trites is wary of using the word “ramming” to describe what’s happening, since that could result in injury for the orca — from a concussion to broken teeth to a laceration.

From what he’s seen, the orcas appear to be targeting the boats for play. Orcas are very tactile creatures, touching each other often and even rubbing their skin on BC’s pebbly beaches.

“I could see the surface of the boat, whether it’s the edge of the ruder or the side of the sailboat, which would be relatively smooth, it’s probably bringing them some physical pleasure.”

Recent reports suggest that boats stopping their engines and coming to a halt has resulted in the whales losing interest, Trites said.

As for how or why it started? We can’t be sure.

“There’s no doubt that they’ve learned from each other and that one whale had to start this behaviour,” he said. “Whether or not it’s this one matriarch that started it, I think that’s up for debate.”

To him, he thinks it’s more likely a young male would have engaged initially — because it’s risky behaviour.

“Killer whales are the largest species of dolphin, and they’re familiar [with] being in and around boats. But they’re not known to engage in this way to physically make contact like this.”

As for what boaters should do, Trites suggests keeping track of where previous incidents have occurred and avoiding the area. Sailing in daylight hours instead of nighttime could also help, so boaters can keep an eye out for orcas. He also thinks boats could send out a marine noise, making it unpleasant for the orcas to stay nearby.

“The killer whales are getting a bad rap — almost a Jaws-like frenzy — but this is a behaviour that people need to find a solution for,” he said.”It’s not like the whales are going to stop on their own.”