[ad_1]
- A group of orcas attacked and sank a small boat off the coast of Portugal.
- Soon the orca entered another small vessel nearby.
- Scientists are investigating why so many fatal whale attacks occur in the area.
It attacked an orcas pod boat off the coast of Portugal on July 31 and a few hours later targeted another vessel in the same area, according to reports.
The first incident, described by local media as “worse than usual”, saw an orcas sighted by a small yacht carrying five people seven miles off the coast of Sines, Portugal.
Orca attacks sometimes move cruise ships, but according to local media, on this occasion, the ship caused serious damage and began to sink.
The five crew members who were on leave, according to The Sun, went onto the life ramp and radioed for help. A nearby fishing vessel managed to rescue them, according to a statement from the Portuguese Navy.
Unusually, a few hours later another orca attack took place nearby.
According to Newsweek, the second orca attack involved a small boat carrying two passengers.
The passengers, who were sleeping at the time of the attack, were traveling from Lisbon to the Algarve, according to a Portuguese resident, according to local media.
An orcas, up to 26 feet long, rammed the boat and bit the helmsman, a resident of Portugal said. Towed to dry dock.
As of 2020, more than 200 orcas attacks on ships have been recorded in Portugal and Spain’s Iberian Peninsula, according to a Portuguese resident.
Orcas (southern killer whales) in the Pacific Northwest.
Monika Wieland Shield / Shutterstock
Scientists are looking at the increasing number of orca attacks to see if the killer whales are acting out of curiosity, malice or revenge, the media said.
Insider previously reported on a series of attacks by orcas off the coast of Spain and Portugal in 2020. At the time, experts told the Observer that killer whales may be attacking deliberately, perhaps as a sign of extreme stress.
[ad_2]
Source link
