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What began as rare encounters off the Iberian coast now shows up in captain’s logs from Galicia to the Strait of Gibraltar, and in wary chatter on VHF. Experts say it looks learned, even coordinated. Insurers are watching. Mariners are changing habits mid-season. It started like a shiver through the deck plates. A coastal freighter off Cape Finisterre rolled on a glassy swell, the night bridge lit soft blue, an ordinary watch with the engine ticking steady, when the helm shuddered as if from a hidden hand. The bow kept true, but the autopilot clicked off and the rudder felt...

..... If you were to believe the press and social media, we’re in the midst of a ‘killer whale uprising’. But claims about their murderous intent are blatantly untrue. The evidence doesn’t stand up. Killer whales do attack, and sometimes kill, trainers in captivity (not surprisingly) but, unlike polar bears, great white sharks and many other top predators, they have never killed a person in the wild. How many attacks have taken place? So what’s happening? Since May 2020, there have been more than 500 reported attacks on sailing boats, as well as some fishing boats, RIBs and motorboats. It...

A killer whale calf has been stranded at Carmel River State Beach for at least nine hours, with crews working tirelessly to keep it comfortable until help arrives. "We can't locate the parent pod so we don't want to float her out there and she not be able to locate the rest of the pod and then she doesn't know how to forage, know how to hunt and do all the things she needs to survive on her own," said Monique King with the Marine Mammal Center. The whale has been vocal and moving its tail, but the prolonged time...

A sailing vessel off Gibraltar has become the first this year to be sunk by orcas that have been targeting boats in the area since 2020. Crew members of the Alboran Cognac boat called rescue services for help around 9am on Sunday, saying that their ship had been damaged by orcas 14 miles from Cape Spartel, at the southern entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, in Moroccan waters. The sailors said they had felt hits on the hull, before their rudder was damaged and they noticed a leak threatening to sink their 50ft boat, local outlet El Pais reports. They...

A rare sight in the Monterey Bay, an all-white killer whale was spotted with a hunting pack. Orca CA216C1 "Frosty" was seen with a pack of orcas hunting elephant seals and California sea lions. According to Monterey Bay Whale Watch, Frosty is about 4 years old and has been seen in the bay before. Filmed aboard Monterey Bay Whale Watch by videographer Evan Brodsky.

The sale of ivory from the tusks and teeth of five more species will be banned under government plans. The import, export and dealing of elephant ivory was banned in the UK last year. The animals that could join the list are killer whales, hippos, walruses, narwhals, and sperm whales. The creatures are hunted and killed for their ivory which is often used in decorative carvings. The government plans to extend the Ivory Act 2018 to include them. People found to be breaking the law can be given unlimited fines or be jailed for five years. Parliament must vote on...

At first, the crew "heard a strange noise and rushed to the top of the ship" thinking they may have hit a container The yearlong aggression of orca pods against boats off the coast of Spain and Portugal continues unabated. By October of last year, there were 33 bizarre "revenge" attacks by killer whales off the coast of Spain and Portugal and it seems they’re not done yet. A video taken by fishermen in the Straights of Gibralter on April 3 shows the men valiantly fighting off a pod of the angry sea mammals as they attack the boat and...

SCIENTISTS have been left confused by a series of incidents in which killer whales have hit sailing boats along the Spanish and Portuguese coasts. In some cases, boats have been damaged and at least one crew member suffered bruising from the impact of the ramming.Two boats also lost parts of their rudders due to the impact of the attacks, according to reports. Incidents have been reported in several locations, including one just off A Coruña, on the northern coast of Spain, on Friday afternoon. Pete Green, managing director of Halcyon Yachts, told The Guardian a boat was being taken to...

The study monitored the movements of 165 great white sharks near Farallon island and documented four encounters between visiting orcas and resident sharksFor years, the great white shark has been believed to be the ocean’s most feared predator. But when five shark carcasses washed ashore on a beach in South Africa’s Western Cape province in 2017, livers chomped from their bodies, a new question loomed in marine researcher’s minds — could the predator be prey? Scientists examined the bite marks under the pectoral fins of the dead sharks and found that they matched only one other oceanic species — the...

This is the terrifying moment three killer whales circled a pair of Russian kayakers who had paddled half a mile out to sea. Two kayakers immediately stop paddling in the calm waters as they spot the huge orcas swimming towards them. The nail-biting 40-second saga took place off Cape Mramorniy, on Sakhalin, an island that is almost as big as Scotland.

When faced with a killer whale, it seems even Jaws might take pause for thought — as new research reveals great white sharks beat a hasty retreat if orcas are around. What happens when top-level predators meet on land is well documented, but little is known about similar interactions in our oceans. To find out, a US research team led from the Monterey Bay Aquarium searched for encounters between great whites — among the most ferocious of all sharks — and orcas (killer whales), in electronic tagging and observational data. In every case where the two predators came into contact,...

When a killer whale drowned and dismembered a trainer at a SeaWorld park in Florida in 2010, federal labor officials fined the park $12,000 and required protective measures — over the objection of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who predicted in a written opinion that the next step would be a ban on tackling in pro football.

An ability to learn through copying may explain why whales develop unique dialects. An orca, or killer whale, in France can vocalize several English words, suggesting the species is capable of mimicking human speech. The 14-year-old female, named Wikie, can say "hello," "one, two," "ah ha," "bye bye," and "Amy." "You cannot pick a word that is very complicated because then I think you are asking too much -- we wanted things that were short but were also distinctive," Josep Call, a professor in evolutionary origins of mind at the University of St. Andrews, told The Guardian. Call is the...

SeaWorld is in mourning Wednesday for the matriarch of the park's orca family. Kasatka -- a mother of four, grandmother of six and great grandmother of two -- died around 8:15 p.m. Tuesday at SeaWorld San Diego's Orca Encounter facility following a lengthy treatment for a bacterial respiratory infection, officials said. "All of us at SeaWorld are deeply saddened by this loss, but thankful for the joy she has brought us and more than 125 million park guests," said a SeaWorld statement.

An eviscerated great white shark has washed up on a South African beach, the latest fearsome predator to fall victim to killer whales in that area. Last month, reports emerged that great white sharks were becoming prey for orcas off of South Africa’s coast.

In the Bering Sea, near the edge the continental shelf, fishermen are trying to escape a predator that seems to outwit them at every turn, stripping their fishing lines and lurking behind their vessels. The predators are pods of killer whales chasing down the halibut and black cod caught by longline fishermen. Fishermen say the whales are becoming a common sight — and problem — in recent years, as they've gone from an occasional pest to apparently targeting the fishermen's lines. Fishermen say they can harvest 20,000 to 30,000 pounds of halibut in a single day, only to harvest next...

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society agreed to pay $2.55 million to Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research on Monday as part of a settlement to resolve a long-standing legal battle over the anti-whaling group’s tactics against Japanese whaling ships in the Antarctic. The settlement came the same day the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Sea Shepherd’s appeal of a federal court’s finding that the group was in contempt of a court order to stay clear of Japanese whaling ships. The activist group’s tactics at sea include throwing smoke bombs at Japanese whaling ships and using metal-reinforced ropes to damage propellers and...

Most animals communicate with innate sounds, such as the barking of dogs and the gobbling of turkeys. But some species, humans, for example, can imitate new sounds and learn how to use them correctly in social situations. This ability, called vocal learning, is one of the foundations of language. Vocal learning is present in bats, some birds and cetaceans — a group that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. Avian scientists have identified specific neural pathways that play a role in learning birdsong, but studying language-learning in large marine animals is more difficult, the researchers said. [Deep Divers: See Photos of...

Killer whales have been repeatedly seen offering food to humans in the wild, a behavior that’s baffling researchers. The whales often lingered or made second attempts, raising questions about their intent—and their capacity for cross-species connection.. Shutterstock Across oceans and decades, killer whales have been caught doing something no one expected—offering food to humans. From California to New Zealand, 34 documented incidents reveal orcas bringing fish, rays, and squid to people in the water, on boats, and even onshore. Scientists say this behavior, usually seen between whales as a bonding act, may show a surprising willingness to connect with humans....

Orcas are behaving strangely, lately. Lately, there’s been a surge in incidents involving Orcas in the Oceans, from a pair of giant beasts killing 17 sharks in one day to a series of attacks on boats. Now, it’s reported that a pod of killer whales has ‘repeatedly rammed and sunk’ a small yacht filled with tourists out on the coast of Portugal. The targeted vessel was sailing off the coast of Fonte da Telha beach last Saturday, when the animals struck it. Daily Mail reported: “Footage shows several orcas chasing the boat before they start violently slamming against it, sending...