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Killer whales have billionaire tourists sailing off the coast of Gibraltar. The group of orcas broke the rudder and punctured the hull after ramming the vessel and its crew of four, who were forced to contact Spanish authorities for help.
The boat was then towed to the port of Barbate, in the province of Cádiz, for repairs. According to the GTOA research team, the incident follows at least 20 interactions this month alone in the Strait of Gibraltar between small boats and highly social predators.
In 2022, there were 207 interactions reported. In early May, the sailing yacht Alboran Champagne suffered a similar impact from three orcas half a nautical mile off Barbate. The vessel could not be towed as she was completely flooded and had been set adrift to sink.
According to reports from the Telegraph, scientists speculate that everything was triggered by an exmplare traumatized by boats, named White Gladis.
Killer whales terrorize billionaires by boat in Gibraltar
According to experts, in fact, the orca may have suffered a serious trauma in the past due to a collision with a ship and, since then, it has launched itself to attack the boats it finds during its crossings.
According to reports from Alfredo López Fernandez, a biologist at the University of Aveiro in Portugal, Gladis was traumatized and is teaching her puppies to attack ships: "In the last week she has already sunk three yachts and in the last few attacks have been sighted her pups too, as if she was passing down her fear and being aggressive towards the boats.
two pups shook the rudder, while the big one rammed the vessel with full force, to one side, trying to capsize the yacht. The two smaller killer whales watched every move of the mother and, with much force, emulated Gladis' attack." The large mammals spring into action by ramming boats, targeting their rudders and causing great damage.
And in the last few days the testimonials on social networks have increased dramatically. According to some witnesses, in fact, the killer whales are teaching their puppies to attack boats. From 2020 to today, there have been dozens of attacks by cetaceans around the coasts of the Strait.
