Sailors have recently testified to being attacked by killer whales. As an explanation of these behaviors, the attractiveness of the game is evoked. But another hypothesis refers to the revenge of a female named Gladis (short for gladiator), hit by a boat and who, since then, would lead her clan in a “fight” against humans. What exactly is going on? Can we really talk about attacks? Are fishermen and other boaters really in danger?
Since 2020, more than 500 interactions initiated by orcas have been recorded, mainly against sailing vessels, in the Iberian Peninsula and in particular in the Strait of Gibraltar. They come to push the boats, creating a very strong apprehension for the skippers, and also sometimes material damage to the hull. Even if it’s already too many, only three boats have been sunk and fortunately, to date, no one has been attacked and physically injured by an orca.
On this subject, everyone gives their opinion, even without experience of the oceans or knowledge of cetaceans. Over the past month, we have witnessed a proliferation of articles and reports, the majority of which present killer whales as the real dangers of the oceans. The language elements are brutal, like their Anglo-Saxon name “killer whale”.
Today, nothing indicates that these interactions will cease soon, as the testimonies continue to flow. And what have we learned? We now know that these killer whales come from several families. They can sometimes stay for more than forty minutes around the boats, always with the same scenario: rapid and intentional approach, beginning of pressure and shocks on the hull with, it seems, a very particular attraction to bite and tear off the rudder (part of a ship’s rudder).
All of this has been documented with photos and videos. I who believe a lot in participatory science, here I am served. So, if you go to the area, don’t forget to charge your smartphone! And, without taking any risks (i.e. holding on tight), film the arrival of the orcas, their behaviors during the interaction, including those who would remain at a distance, and continue to film them when they leave . You can report the interaction on the Cruising Association website to help the scientific community.
This last idea is not new since it was the basis of Michael Anderson’s 1977 film Orca. As Camille Brunel writes in her book Praise of the Whale: “Are we living the last moments of their incredible indulgence? Because as humans, aware of the fate that we voluntarily inflict on nature, we would really like the animals to revolt, show their anger, resent us.
For cetaceans, there would be enough, because the list of impacting anthropogenic activities is long: fisheries, plastic pollution, global warming, maritime traffic, oil exploration, explosion, military sonar, offshore wind turbines. oppose ideologically without discernment to our activities at sea, but to scientifically assess their negative effect, which ranges from simple disturbances to strandings.
Moreover, with regard to mining from the deep seabed, the moratorium, supported in particular by France, seems to be going in the right direction, since it is justified by the little, or even the absence, of current knowledge of the ecosystems at these depths and the significant impacts inherent in the technology being considered today.
For cetaceans, it is also necessary to add, to this list, the hunting always of topicality. We even captured orcas and locked them in tanks for the sole purpose of having fun. Also, a desire for revenge would be logical and expected. And even if, until now, this has not been scientifically proven, we could nevertheless consider this hypothesis, as killer whales are surprisingly intelligent. Sentient beings (i.e. capable of having empathy, of feeling emotions, of pain), they know how to make decisions and innovate, i.e. to adapt by finding and themselves developing a skill in a given situation.
Their culture is expressed, moreover, via sound signatures specific to their clan, or through their large number of incredible hunting strategies to access their prey, such as voluntarily stranding themselves on the beach to catch sea lions or coordinate to create a sufficient wave to destabilize the seal taking refuge on a piece of pack ice. This culture is transmitted from adults to juveniles; we speak of vertical cultural transmission.
Interestingly, these opportunistic situations are not driven to fulfill a vital function (like obtaining food), but rather out of a desire to observe us. And why not, perhaps even, to want to get in touch with us. So, above all, we should not put an end to these exchanges, but on the contrary support them to go even further. This is what certain musicians, like Jim Nollman and David Rothenberg, have sought to do by establishing interspecies communication. Also, more than scaring us, seeing killer whales coming towards us should make us dream, bring us to new considerations of exchanges with animals and new opportunities to reconcile ourselves with nature.
Finally, doesn’t this question of killer whale attacks reflect our perception of the living, and the place we reserve for non-human species? With our Western culture, since Antiquity, we have convinced ourselves of our uniqueness by appropriating intellectual and social faculties and by systematically excluding animals, by authoritatively refusing them a language, a sensitivity, feelings.
Like the famous Happy elephant at the Bronx Zoo, which has not been legally recognized as having a personality, it is the status of the animal that is addressed in this debate. Will we continue to think of ourselves as superior? Why allow ourselves to swim with orcas and refuse them to come near us? Are we going to continue giving them good points or bad points, as we do in the media today?
In France, it took until 2015 for the notion of living beings endowed with sensitivity to be written into the Civil Code and for certain species, including killer whales, to be protected by our environmental law. Because let’s not forget: today and tomorrow, it’s about doing everything to save cetaceans and their natural environment. Any action, any decision must be taken to defend them, even if it means accepting this material damage to our boats and collectively taking charge of their compensation as compensation for our impacts on the oceans. It is high time to have a positive perception of nature to better respect it, letting ourselves be guided by our ethics and morals.
* Olivier Adam is bioacoustician, Sorbonne University
