Vet Info-H • Sep–Dec 2023 • Vol 11 • No. 4 13 Wildlife Corner Killer whales are mammals, closely related to dolphins. The name “killer whale” is a misnomer, and the meaning of its scientific name Orcinus orca is even worse, that is, “the demon from hell”. Because of a name like that, humans have learnt to fear these beautiful creatures. Killer whales or orcas are the most abundant and widely distributed mammals on earth, after humans.1 An important feature is that the brain size of these killer whales is similar to that of humans.2 Evolved about 28 million years ago, killer whales belong to the toothed whales’ (odontocetes) group.3 They maintain a matriarchal society with lifelong close ties between mothers and daughters.4 There is flow of information from mother to daughters and similarly down the line.4 It was observed that after the COVID-19 lockdown was lifted and naval traffic suddenly increased, some killer whales in the Strait of Gibraltar started exhibiting disruptive behavior toward boats, which has raised quite a stir in the media by anthropomorphizing their actions. Killer Whales: Friends or Foes? Romans had reported the presence of killer whales in the Iberian Peninsula in 77 AD. According to reports from 1757, the presence of killer whales has supported increased tuna catch as killer whales help move tuna toward fishing nets. The first report of killer whales attempting to sink a boat was in 2000. Since 2020, there have been 49 incidents about killer whales attacking boats. Apparently, they interact more with sailboats than catamarans, motorboats, or fishing boats. They also interact with spade rudders. It is noticed that interaction of killer whales with sailboats and spade rudders could last from 30 minutes to 2 hours, and this interaction occurs mostly during daytime (especially midafternoon) and, sometimes, at night. Killer whales have been observed to approach stealthily, touch the boats, steer the boats by contacting the rudder, and also stop the boats. Once the boats stop, they get disinterested and move away.5 It has to be noted that none of these incidences have reported attack or casualties to humans.
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