Well, ‘relax’ may not actually be the best advice, given a consistent rise in the number of interactions between a pod of about 40 so-called ‘killer whales’ and small boats off the coast of Portugal.
But at least, you can take comfort in the fact that they’re not out to kill you—it’s all a (sometimes deadly) game that started in 2020 when three juvenile orcas were drawn by curiosity to boats. According to research by Mariana Sequiera from the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests, biologists think the rudder, with its motion and the noises it makes as it moves, looks to them like a toy, and they view the interaction as play.
Over the next few years, the behavior has spread to others in the pod, now perhaps involving half of the group, accounting for the increasing number of incidents; so far this year nearly 60 encounters have been reported, although only a few have resulted in shipwrecks. Biologist Rui Rosa considers it unlikely that the orcas are being aggressive, pointing out that at around 11 tons a piece, they have the capacity for much larger-scale consequences.
