One movie was enough for a perpetual horror to carry on for generations. The razor-sharp teeth ripping out the human flesh made sharks one of the greatest movie villains.
Directed by Steven Spielberg, Jaws was influential in creating a vile impression about sharks in pop culture. Even today, sharks are prime suspects in missing persons cases in the sea.
However, experts soon debunked the claims that sharks have predatory tendencies toward humans. In fact, Sharks usually don’t bother until someone encroaches on their personal space.
History repeats itself, as we see a new orca-attacking-spree in the past few years. These killer whales were recorded attacking ships near Spain and Portugal in 2020. They usually sneak up from behind and collide head-first onto the boat. They are also ripping off the rudders from the ship with their sharp teeth.
Three consecutive incidents have raised concerns about the sudden aggressive nature of Orcas. The internet has also coined a term for this– “Orcanizing,” defined as the Orca uprising. One theory even suggests a correlation between the orca attacks and the recent Titanic wreck sub-disappearance involving a billionaire.
Let us figure out the real reason for these attacks–
Why are Orcas Whales Attacking Boats?
To understand why they are “attacking,” there is one fact to be clarified– no significant damage was caused to the ship, and no human was directly harmed by the orcas. However, some boats did sink due to sudden jolts. But still, the term attack seems too extreme to describe the incident.
EXPERTS’ OPINIONS:
- Andrew Trites, director of the Marine Mammal Research Unit at the University of British Columbia in Canada, told Insider–
“They clearly find a lot of pleasure in these encounters.”
“They’re probably socializing, yucking it up with each other about their adventures without realizing the terror they’re creating in their moments of joy.”
- Monika Wieland Shields, director of the Orca Behavior Institute, told Insider–
“I certainly think orcas are capable of complex emotions. But we just haven’t seen anything like that anywhere else in the world. And we have given orcas plenty of reason to want to seek revenge on us.”
“To me, that’s really similar to what’s going on in Spain,”
“It’s the same type of behavior, they might be thinking, ‘Hey, there’s this piece of equipment in my environment; I’m going to play with it for a while, then move on.'”
- According to Hanne Strager, a mammal marine biologist and author of the book “The Killer Whale Journals: Our Love and Fear of Ocras” –
“I don’t doubt that it feels like an attack for the people on the boat.”
“But from the orca’s perspective, I don’t think it’s aggressive. Just because it feels and looks very dramatic to us doesn’t mean it is dramatic for them.”
To put into perspective: A regular boat ship is around 30-40 feet in dimension. And an adult killer whale’s standard size is approximately 30 feet. From an orca’s perception, the vessel is like a life-size toy. Many experts believe it’s simply curiosity and no other malicious intent/.
However, intentional or not, this pattern might prove dangerous to the orcas in the future. In an unnerving encounter, researchers spotted a battalion of orcas followed by dozens of dolphins and whales.
What are they orcanizing?
Why are Orcas So Aggressive?
Orcas cannot be categorized as aggressive. It’s just that their appearance, speed, and strength make them look intimidating. But what else can you expect in such a vast ocean?
It is their characteristics, given that they are highly developed mammals. This ignites their curiosity to explore new things that don’t usually belong in the ocean.
Maybe it’s high time humans control their encroaching behavior rather than judging an orca.
However, once in a while, we do enjoy the internet’s conspiracy theories–
There is a rumor floating around (pun intended) that there was a traumatized killer whale called White Gladis due to her previous encounter with humans. She is set out for revenge, and other orcas are simply following her in solidarity.
What are your thoughts on this case? Do you think orcas are vicious? Is the theory of orcanizing really prevalent?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
