We were attacked by Orcas!!!

[lestersails]

Originally Posted by ahun

Meanwhile in Tasmania:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc...ralia-54260278

Apparently, some of them that was rescued and lead back to deep water turn around and stranded themselves again. Tell me that was intelligent...

They would have made good BBQ meat I think ��

Look before you leap, much? Perhaps the animals were damaged by high intensity sonar. Yes, I am aware that beachings happened before sonar was deployed, but it does appear that sonar can cause the same problem as can be naturally caused.


http://www.bahamaswhales.org/Interim_Bahamas_Report.pdf

[barnakiel]

They beached always. Also before sonars and oil rig research ships (that are known to damage their hearing.


Sometimes a viral infection is suspected - the animals get sick and confused, unable to 'navigate'.


b.

[lestersails]

Irrelevant. The beaching can be caused by sonar or infections. My post was in response to the poster that concluded these were not intelligent animals because they beach.

[Manateeman]

OH my goodness. I finally figured out why the Orcas are attacking boats.
They are trying to push the boats off the edge.
You know...the world IS FLAT and if the Orcas have their way. Ker..plunk !
Off the edge you go.
Geronimo!
Mark and his “ push em all off the edge” very strong manatees.

[PirateFoxy]

Originally Posted by Manateeman

OH my goodness. I finally figured out why the Orcas are attacking boats.
They are trying to push the boats off the edge.
You know...the world IS FLAT and if the Orcas have their way. Ker..plunk !
Off the edge you go.
Geronimo!
Mark and his “ push em all off the edge” very strong manatees.

I now have this mental image of a sailboat sailing along escorted by a whole herd of happy manatees.

[NevilleCat]

Originally Posted by Manateeman

The Orca sub population in the Gibraltar straits has been declared critically endangered by the cetacean group of the IUCN.

The IUCN is an internationally respected group of scientists and the Cetacean group members represent the leading experts in this field.

The Ken, Barbie and cat attacked by orca story buys a few beers ...
By posting these silly comments, these statements could be construed as prior intent to violate the law.
What is the result of all these stories. No sailing areas.
Three German kids on a steel boat and a tall tail of being attacked ( no actual damage to the boat or crew) got their blog lots of hits...lots of press including the coverage on this forum.
What did it get the rest of us? Less ocean. And that...ladies and gentlemen..is why I call them Ken and Barbie and the cat.
Plastic people floating in a plastic ocean telling a confabulated tale.
Happy trails to you kimosabi.
Captain Mark and his killer manatees

My impression is that the original poster is a professional delivery skipper?

[Manateeman]

Hi. There are two threads going at once on the subject. If you could please take the time to read all of them and the longer story in the Gardian, you will definitely see why the Spanish authorities have created a no sail zone.
Please read my posts...some took a lot of time, one is just fun.
It’s a subject I know quite a lot about...so do A lot of others who are interested in marine mammal acoustics and behavior. There are several ideas but no consensus yet. My advice is simple. Keep a sharp lookout for sleeping sperm whales at night. Stop if you see Orcas. Avoid hippos.
Manatees don’t attack period.
Happy trails to you
Captain Mark and is fuzzy faced friends

[NevilleCat]

Originally Posted by Manateeman

Hi. There are two threads going at once on the subject. If you could please take the time to read all of them and the longer story in the Gardian, you will definitely see why the Spanish authorities have created a no sail zone.
Please read my posts...some took a lot of time, one is just fun.
It’s a subject I know quite a lot about...so do A lot of others who are interested in marine mammal acoustics and behavior. There are several ideas but no consensus yet. My advice is simple. Keep a sharp lookout for sleeping sperm whales at night. Stop if you see Orcas. Avoid hippos.
Manatees don’t attack period.
Happy trails to you
Captain Mark and is fuzzy faced friends

hmmm ok, but it sure feels like you are dismissing the OP's credibility in this case. I do try to read and make sense of your posts.

[Manateeman]

Thank you for reading all my posts...it’s a complex subject.
Here is what I saw on the OP video. Orca very close to boat. Boat sailing the entire time. Skipper stops engine. Orca swims away.
Skipper reports “Attack “and rudder destroyed.
I’d like to put acoustics aside for a moment. I’ll get back to it.
Orcas are big, powerful, intelligent. You may not believe this but manatees enjoy surfing. Juvenile Orcas might have considered the sailboat a new toy. The rudder a fin on food...great to practice biting on. Or they simply were having fun in the stern wake and bounced off the rudder. Their weight and a what kind of rudder...spade? Teens break stuff.
No one knows...my point is exactly this..why call it an “ATTACK”.
Some of the biologist seeing repeated examples of this type of vessel Orca contact have persuaded the Spanish to declare no sail zones.
This skipper may have thought the Orcas wanted to disable his boat but believe me...maybe not as much damage as waking up a Sperm whale, but they use their weight to smash foot thick ice. They’d make short orders out of most yachts. There is evidence the Orcas and fishermen are competing for tuna and evidence fishermen have been aggressive toward Orcas.
It’s just not accurate to use the word attack. It’s inflammatory and sad.
Anecdotal stories are not scientific evidence.
I reported on a manatee attack.
I didn’t question the fact the swimmer was seriously afraid, nor that the interaction did not occur. It was simply a human swimming into a group of mating manatees..big, very excited manatees...probably one female and several males. Easily explained if one studies manatees.
Look at the old reports of Orcas sinking boats. Don’t you think it’s curious they sink the boat but not eat or kill the sailors.
Sperm whales snapped whalers chase boats in two then tail slapped the sailors to death...documented in whaling logs.
Why don’t these killer whales kill?
They are certainly capable. In captivity they killed a girl clearly on purpose.
The German boat video was the most egregious. A steel boat. No damage, no injury..bunch of kids..an attack...please.
If Orcas had attorneys in admiralty they might prevail in an action against boats. Failure to stop and render assistance after collision. Improper lookout. Excessive speed under conditions, failure to reach meeting agreement, no sound signal...improper day shape. I use to love watching my dad in court...if he were alive he’d be writing the Orca case.
Sailboat collides with Orca family. Juvenile Orcas throw their bodies under speeding vessel in a lost attempt to save their pod.
Harpoons, firecrackers, bleach, banging pipes and my favorite electric wire.
Gentlemen. If they wanted to eat you, you’d need an elephant gun.
Happy trails to you.
Captain Mark and his pizza and beer time manatees

[NevilleCat]

Yes I agree the footage shows nothing.
So I assume that you doubt his statement that the rudder was repeatedly hit even later under tow.
Having your boat disabled by a large sea creature even if apparently in play or whatever you may be suggesting, would be pretty confronting don't you agree?
I don't know anything about a German steel boat which was supposedly undamaged but that sounds like it could be due to luck and a function of heavier construction than necessarily a ploy for YouTube ratings.
Likewise, I also don't doubt that you have some experience in this area, but I'm not sure that your condensed advice which seems to be merely to stop whenever you think you see Orcas is always going to be practical.

[Manateeman]

Hi. I never said I doubted the Orcas and this vessel were involved in a collision.
Furthermore, I never made any statements about this skippers state of mind.
So would you please stop accusing me of doubting his perception of the events.
What someone thinks occurred might not be in fact, what did occur.
The reports in the news have repeatedly used the words attack and orchestrated. Look at any definition of the word attack. I’ve sat in and listened to a lot of admiralty cases and I’ve never heard an attorney use the word attack with reference to a collision.
Orcas clearly get angry. They have killed trainers. Orcas communicate exceptionally well between themselves. Have they begun fo formulate a plan to remove boats from competing with them over the tuna and sailboats are just a target of opportunity. They are intelligent. Do you think they discuss tactics like let’s bit off a few rudders and maybe the boats will go away.
Seriously. Do you think so?
If they can truly orchestrate attacks, all these silly defense ideas..harpoons, firecrackers, electric wire..will not stop them.
You state stopping you vessel is impractical. Fist, in the USA, it’s required.
Any collision. It’s not like Orcas carpet the ocean. I’ve written several times.
If you move quickly toward any group of female mammals with young, it can be perceived as a threat...musk ox, orcas, elephants, soccer moms. You will get a response because protecting the young is hard wired in mammals.
Do you doubt this statement?
When sailing you keep a proper lookout for your own safety...set the legal issue aside... so, you see a pod of “killer” whales. Let’s just go closer ? Whatever is going on with the orcas is unknown at this point. Why not just avoid a potential collision. That is the point of a lot of the rules of the road. The privileged vessel cannot continue into a collision. Leave them alone. Stop looking like a squeeze toy that moves, makes noise and is interesting. Manatees can hear people talking inside a boat. Marine mammals live in an acoustic world. They investigate sound. The 1910 attack on sled dogs might have been the Orcas thinking it’s barking seals. Hint..if you have a dog you might not want him to sound like a seal. Attack? Take a look at Sperm whales. Sail into a sleeping Sperm whale and you might not survive. They do attack. If provoked.
Never read any report, including whaling logs, of an unprovoked attack.
Multiple documented cases in whaling logs of Sperms biting chase boats in two and purposely killing the crew. The areas where you will find Sperm whales are well documented. I’m not worried about hitting a floating shipping box but I will take several precautions anywhere near Sperm whales. Anyway...
Happy trails to you
Captain Mark and his well mannered manatees

[Iron E]

Just throwing this out there... Maybe these boats have a lot of growth on them and the Orcas are simply chewing on the rudders like a tasty Doritos® Chip

[Manateeman]

Manatees love the long bright green lettuce along the waterlines. I don’t use antifouling. They love pizza and beer...just kidding...they actually love Romain lettuce and that’s what NASA feeds them as a treat during recovery from cold stress or boat hits.
Orcas eat meat.
Maybe an occasional sailboat for dessert. Kidding!
They might be attracted to some acoustic frequency...maybe just out of curiosity.
They might associate engine noise with fishing boats and therefor easy to get tuna...easy cause they don’t have to chase the tuna to exhaustion to eat them. Eating long line tuna conserves energy.
They are very curious mammals. They look for anything which looks separate from the background...visual or acoustic. Stop and be quiet and you blend back into not interesting.
I read a lot of marine mammal science stuff but I’m not that interested in putting on my wet suit and joining Sperm whales or Orcas.
Sperms have eaten boats and killed people but there has never been a fatal Orca / human except in captive Orcas.
Bottom paint color? Not any solid cases. Rudder turbulence producing a signal?
Not enough amplitude. Orcas hearing is excellent. Just the hull noise would give provide them with something to investigate. Manatees can hear me talking inside my boat. Orcas are good listeners. I wish readers would read all I have written on both posts and relax about the Orcas. The mammal folks will figure this behavior out. Again, repelling them might cause more harm...to you...than fading into the background. Sail where there are Sperm whales sleeping at night...do not relax. Sperm whales have proven when they get angry they can eat a good size boat. Hit them sailing is one thing. Stick a harpoon in them and you will be toast. Well got to go pay my manatees bar bill.
Happy trails to you
Captain Mark and his sometimes rowdy manatee friends

[seamaiden]

Don't know where you get your information. Orcas do not kill for sport, ever. They have only been documented attacking when threatened, attacking in response to injury, and that excludes their natural hunting for food. No animal, except humans, kill for sport. I strongly suggest you read reliable reports from naturalists and scientists whose profession is to study animal behavior.

Originally Posted by Dougtiff

Orcas attack seal' and sea lion's for sport,kill baby whales also, this Orca i believe has had a bad experience with a small boat of some kind [not a ship], and is relating it to any small boat's now, as a commercial diver of 20 year's, i never had a pipe put in the water, and banged on to scare what ever away, and that includes shark infested waters off Bombay, doing pipe line and production platform work.

[seamaiden]

Thank you! Bravo!
God, people can be idiots when it comes to understanding animal behavior. Too many humans impose human behaviors, human rationales and psychological processes on animals. Humans are the ONLY "animal" which kills for sport. Animals kill to defend their lives, to hunt for food - and unlike humans, they never over-hunt. They will also kill when they have been abused and provoked by humans, but for them, that is a defensive action (unless they have been driven mad by a human torturing them, which has happened). Witness bears, tigers, lions in circuses who turn on their "trainers" after having been goaded and brutalized by the trainers, including sea mammals in captivity who are forced, often by brutal methods, to "perform" for the pleasure of humans. Animals in the wild who have been hunted for centuries, who have learned that our ships are a threat, will defend themselves if they feel at risk. And their defensive actions might appear to be an "attack", but it isn't an attack as humans understand that action.

Originally Posted by Manateeman

Thank you for reading all my posts...it’s a complex subject.
Here is what I saw on the OP video. Orca very close to boat. Boat sailing the entire time. Skipper stops engine. Orca swims away.
Skipper reports “Attack “and rudder destroyed.
I’d like to put acoustics aside for a moment. I’ll get back to it.
Orcas are big, powerful, intelligent. You may not believe this but manatees enjoy surfing. Juvenile Orcas might have considered the sailboat a new toy. The rudder a fin on food...great to practice biting on. Or they simply were having fun in the stern wake and bounced off the rudder. Their weight and a what kind of rudder...spade? Teens break stuff.
No one knows...my point is exactly this..why call it an “ATTACK”.
Some of the biologist seeing repeated examples of this type of vessel Orca contact have persuaded the Spanish to declare no sail zones.
This skipper may have thought the Orcas wanted to disable his boat but believe me...maybe not as much damage as waking up a Sperm whale, but they use their weight to smash foot thick ice. They’d make short orders out of most yachts. There is evidence the Orcas and fishermen are competing for tuna and evidence fishermen have been aggressive toward Orcas.
It’s just not accurate to use the word attack. It’s inflammatory and sad.
Anecdotal stories are not scientific evidence.
I reported on a manatee attack.
I didn’t question the fact the swimmer was seriously afraid, nor that the interaction did not occur. It was simply a human swimming into a group of mating manatees..big, very excited manatees...probably one female and several males. Easily explained if one studies manatees.
Look at the old reports of Orcas sinking boats. Don’t you think it’s curious they sink the boat but not eat or kill the sailors.
Sperm whales snapped whalers chase boats in two then tail slapped the sailors to death...documented in whaling logs.
Why don’t these killer whales kill?
They are certainly capable. In captivity they killed a girl clearly on purpose.
The German boat video was the most egregious. A steel boat. No damage, no injury..bunch of kids..an attack...please.
If Orcas had attorneys in admiralty they might prevail in an action against boats. Failure to stop and render assistance after collision. Improper lookout. Excessive speed under conditions, failure to reach meeting agreement, no sound signal...improper day shape. I use to love watching my dad in court...if he were alive he’d be writing the Orca case.
Sailboat collides with Orca family. Juvenile Orcas throw their bodies under speeding vessel in a lost attempt to save their pod.
Harpoons, firecrackers, bleach, banging pipes and my favorite electric wire.
Gentlemen. If they wanted to eat you, you’d need an elephant gun.
Happy trails to you.
Captain Mark and his pizza and beer time manatees