--- title: "Boat-Attacking Orcas Are Back for Vengeance" description: "Pods of killer whales are once again attacking boats along the coast of Spain, striking fear into the hearts of local sailors." date: "2025-09-06" modified: "2025-09-06" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/attacking-orcas-back-vengeance" categories: - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "killer whales" - "orcas" - "the digest" --- # Boat-Attacking Orcas Are Back for Vengeance ![Pods of killer whales are once again attacking boats along the coast of Spain, striking fear into the hearts of local sailors.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* Pods of killer whales are once again attacking boats along the coast of Spain, striking fear into the hearts of local sailors. As [*Live Science* reports](), the orcas have been singling out sailboats and tearing off their rudders, again drawing attention to the large sea mammals' changing behavior, with experts suggesting that orcas are [teaching each other]() how to take down sailing vessels. While scientists are still trying to figure out why exactly the orcas have it out for boats at sea, some have suggested that it's simply a sign that they're having fun. "They don't care if it's a sailboat or motorboat," Spanish conservation group CIRCE president Renaud de Stephanis [told the *CBC*]() last year. "They look for the rudders to break them. They just push it with their head until they break it and that's it." Most recently, local newspaper [*Faro de Vigo* reported over the weekend]() that orcas had ripped off a wooden sailing ship's rudder off the Galician coast in northwestern Spain. "The truth is we were very frightened; in fact, we completely freaked out when we realized the orcas were hitting the boat," the boat's owner Valentín Otero told the newspaper, as [quoted by *The Independent*](). Earlier this year, a pod of orcas [rammed a British sailing boat]() off the northern coast. Besides becoming a terrifying new reality for sailors, the attacks highlight the [highly socialized nature]() of killer whales. "These are highly intelligent and inquisitive animals and they seem to be attracted to the underside of the boats and parts that are sticking out," neuroscientist and cetacean expert Lori Marino [told the *BBC*]() in 2023. "Orcas are cultural beings and often start a fad and that fad will spread through the group." In simple terms, tearing off rudders may just be a fun — and unusual — way to pass the time for orcas. "It’s a very dangerous game they’re playing, obviously," Animal Welfare Institute senior scientist Naomi Rose [told the *Washington Post*]() last year. "But it’s a game." **More on orcas:** *[Benevolent Orca Pods Are Adopting Baby Pilot Whales in an Apparent Effort to Clean Up the Species' Image]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()