--- title: "Experts Say Killer Whales Are Teaching Each Other to Attack Boats" description: "Scientists believe that killer orca whales in the waters off of Europe's Iberian Peninsula are teaching each other how to sink sailboats." date: "2023-05-23" modified: "2023-05-23" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/killer-whales-attack-boats" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "marine mammals" - "ocean life" - "orcas" - "the digest" --- # Experts Say Killer Whales Are Teaching Each Other to Attack Boats ![Scientists believe that killer orca whales in the waters off of Europe's Iberian Peninsula are teaching each other how to sink sailboats.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Revenge Time Orcas... [they're organized](). A sharp uptick in killer whale attacks on boats sailing off Europe's Iberian Peninsula has led scientists to believe that orcas are actually teaching each other how to sink sailing vessels, [*Live Science* reports](). Per *Live Science*, reports of increasingly aggressive encounters with orcas [started back in 2020](). But it wasn't until this month that any of these increasingly hostile orcas had actually sunk any ocean-faring vessels. While researchers can't say for certain why the killer whales are suddenly sinking sailboats, they do have a compelling leading theory: [revenge](). ## White Gladis In short, as Alfredo López Fernandez, a biologist at the University of Aveiro in Portugal and representative of the Grupo de Trabajo Orca Atlántica (Atlantic Orca Working Group), told *Live Science*, the prevailing theory is that one female orca — nicknamed White Gladis — was traumatized by a sailboat. This "critical moment of agony," as researchers are calling it, caused a behavioral change in White Gladis, who began to attack similar vessels. "That traumatized orca," López Fernandez told *Live Science*, "is the one that started this behavior of physical contact with the boat." As the theory goes, other adult orcas picked up on this behavior, becoming more aggressive with boats themselves. And now, the kids of *those* adults have seemingly picked up the behavior, too. At this point, according to López Fernandez, sinking sailboats is really just good ol' family fun. "We do not interpret that the orcas are teaching the young," the researcher told *Live Science*, "although the behavior has spread to the young vertically, simply by imitation, and later horizontally among them, because they consider it something important in their lives." ## Family Time Testimonies from sailors certainly seem to support this theory. "There were two smaller and one larger orca," skipper Werner Schaufelberger, whose boat was sunk by orcas on May 4 in the Strait of Gibraltar, [told the German outlet *Yacht*](), as translated by *Live Science*. "The little ones shook the rudder at the back while the big one repeatedly backed up and rammed the ship with full force from the side." "The two little orcas observed the bigger one's technique," Schaufelberger added, "with a slight run-up, they too slammed into the boat." Of course, it absolutely sucks to lose a boat. But that said, the orcas are reportedly attacking a relatively small number of vessels passing through the area. And if the situation escalates, it could be dangerous for sailors *and* orcas. Here's hoping that chaotic legend White Gladis chooses peace soon. **More on chaotic, boat-sinking ocean mammals:** [*Chaotic Walrus Keeps Climbing on Small Boats and Sinking Them*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()