Whale Destroys Boat In Shocking Attack Caught On Video
For the last several years we have been seeing an increasing number of news stories about orcas attacking and sinking ships that are out at sea. Nobody has been able to explain this unusual behavior, as it was not something orcas did before, but now it is happening more often. And now it is not just orcas, as recent footage also shows a whale attacking a boat in a shocking video shared on X.
In the case of orcas, there is no doubt that the behavior is deliberate at this point.
In the short video, we see passengers on another boat who seem to be enthusiastically enjoying a whale sighting. However, things quickly become serious as the whale dives up and lands on another boat, causing it to capsize as the video abruptly ends. It is too difficult to tell from the limited footage whether this was the whale deliberately going after the boat or merely diving without realizing its proximity to the boat.
In the case of orcas, there is no doubt that the behavior is deliberate at this point. More than 500 reported cases of orcas attacking boats since 2020. Scientists believe that the behavior has been passed between orca pods, with groups continuing to learn such actions by witnessing it from others. If the whale seen sinking the boat in the video also learned this behavior, it would be interesting if it also stemmed from learning it from orcas.
One comfort is that if the whale sinking the boat in the video did do so deliberately, it would likely be difficult for other whales to learn this tactic.
Despite being dubbed “killer whales,” orcas are actually a breed of dolphin. The majority of the reports of boats being sunk so far have been centered around orcas as the perpetrators. If this was indeed a deliberate action by the whale that attacked the boat in the video, this would be an alarming new development. If genuine whales are now exhibiting such behavior, they are much larger than orcas and have the potential to do much more damage.
One comfort is that if the whale sinking the boat in the video did do so deliberately, it would likely be difficult for other whales to learn this tactic. Unlike orcas, true whales are not pod animals. As they do not typically swim together in coordinated groups. Therefore, one solitary whale attacking a ship would not have a whole group of whales to teach this technique to.
Scientists believe the orca attacks may have started as retaliation for a possible incident in which an orca was injured by a boat.
The method of the whale’s attack against the boat in the video also does not match how orcas typically attack vessels. Orcas generally ram the boat and will even bite at it to damage it, including biting off the rudder. They do not generally dive up to slam down on the boat. The video is too short to show if the whale exhibited any of this other behavior, but based on what is shown, it does not match the typical orca attack patterns.
Scientists believe the orca attacks may have started as retaliation for a possible incident in which an orca was injured by a boat. With the whale that sunk the boat in the video, nothing shown indicates the boats were doing anything to antagonize the creature, though the clip is too short to say for certain what the circumstances were.
