Desperate times, Desperate measures

Stories about orca attacks along the Spanish and Portuguese coasts began in 2020, with Peter Swanson reporting on a deterrent tactic that seems to be working:

We’re not supposed to call ’em attacks because that, I guess, would be prejudicial. “Interactions” is better, we are told.

So, let’s just say it: Orcas are the ones that have been doing the interacting and with extreme prejudice, as they continue to ram sailboats off Iberia’s Atlantic coast. There have been a reported 700 of these non-attacks since 2020.

The latest interaction was a doozy. The headline-writer hadn’t gotten the memo: “Scary Moment as 30 Killer Whales Attack Family’s Yacht.”

Can you imagine? Thirty of them!

Except, it’s likely untrue. Most of the Orca incidents have involved a half dozen or so of the animals, dubbed the “Gladiator Pod,” but six or seven is bad enough. – Full report