Killer whale ‘traumatised by collision with a boat’ is TEACHING other orcas to attack yachts

A vengeful orca believed to have been traumatized by a collision with a boat taught other orcas to attack ships around Gibraltar, scientists say.

Researchers believe the female killer whale White Gladis is taking revenge on boats by coaching killer whales, which have already sunk two yachts.

They believe a “critical moment of agony” — in which White Gladis may have collided with a vessel or become entangled in illegal fishing nets — led to her aggression against boats.

With the leader showing other orcas how to ram yachts, sailors may have to fear future orca attacks.

EEarlier this month, on May 2, about six killer whales reportedly rammed the hull of a Bavaria 46 cruiser yacht in the Strait of Gibraltar.

The ambush lasted about an hour and left a Cambridge couple shocked and confused.

Janet Morris, 58, and Stephen Bidwell, 58, were on the yacht when they were alerted with the cry of ‘killer whales!’

Mr. Bidwell told The Telegraph that it was ‘an experience I will never forget’.

“I kept reminding myself that we had a 22-ton steel boat, but it was disheartening to see three of them arrive at the same time, fast and at the same pace with their fins out of the water.”

“We were ducks,” Mrs. Morris added.

“A clearly larger matriarch was definitely nearby and almost supervising,” Bidwell said before speculating it was notorious leader White Gladis.

The ship’s captain Greg Blackburn, from Leeds, said he had read reports from the matriarch and knew they were going for a ride. He said he lowered the mainsail to make the boat “as dull as possible.”

The group of whales and their gang leader eventually lost interest, after causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.

It is not the first time White Gladis has been suspected of wreaking havoc in the Strait of Gibraltar, the route connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea.

In November last year, a ship off the coast of Viana do Castelo, Portugal, was attacked by killer whales and the hull broke.

A third boat came under fire and was dragged into the water after its rudder turned off near the Spanish coast two days after the attack near Gibraltar.

This time, two smaller whales rammed the ship, copying the tactics of a larger killer whale.

Captain Werner Schaufelberger told Yacht, a German sailing publication, “The little ones shook the rudder at the rear while the big one backed up repeatedly, ramming the ship from the side with full force.

‘The two small orcas observed the technique of the bigger ones and – with a light run-up – also hit the boat.’

The crew were rescued from the damaged boat, but the ship eventually sank in Barbate harbor.

Alfredo López Fernandez, a biologist at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, and member of the Atlantic Orca Working Group, said the attacks are likely the result of past trauma.

“That traumatized orca is the one that caused this behavior of physical contact with the boat,” he said.

A “critical moment of pain” made White Gladis aggressive toward boats — and this is now being learned and copied by other killer whales, the biologist told Live Science.

Killer whales are known to be social creatures and therefore can easily learn from each other. Other scientists suggest that the attacks may be due to the orcas becoming territorial or simply wanting to play.

These attacks are becoming more and more common. In September 2022, authorities in Spain banned ships from sailing from the northwestern tip due to as many as 29 reported orca attacks.