Incidents of killer whale attacks on boats have increased over the past four years, sinking vessels and endangering the lives of those on board.
The reason for the orca attacks, which caused serious danger to people sailing along the coasts of Portugal and Spain, has been understood.
The report released by the International Whaling Commission revealed that orcas attack ships because it is their fun time to play with the rudders.
“The sea is a very boring place for an animal,” said researcher Renaud de Stephanis, president of Conservation, Information and Study on Cetaceans of Spain. USA Todayand adds that “imagine that you are a dog or some other mammal, you can interact with the objects around you. But in the sea there is not much for orcas to interact with, so they play with the [boat] rudders.”
The expert Alexandre Zerbini was cited by the New York Post As he says: “As the young regional marine mammals have free time, they have turned the act of releasing the rudder pieces into a water sport.”
“We think the orcas are getting something out of this, they're enjoying what's happening. They're playing,” he said, adding that “they obviously don't understand that such play can mean harm to boats.”
The orcas began to imitate the behavior of others, so incidents have increased, according to Naomi Rose of the Animal Welfare Institute.
