Scientists explain why orcas keep ramming yachts

Tech Insider
Orcas — like the one seen here at Loro Parque zoo in Spain — have been bumping into boats near Portugal and Spain.
Orcas — like the one seen here at Loro Parque zoo in Spain — have been bumping into boats near Portugal and Spain.

Marcos del Mazo/Getty Images

Boats still aren't safe from orcas as the Mediterranean yachting season kicks off and killer whales sink another yacht

Tech Insider
A pod or orca whales feeds in the Atlantic Ocean.
A pod of orca whales feeds in the Atlantic Ocean. In the Mediterranean, a different group of orcas sank another yacht.

Arturo de Frias photography

Orcas continue to stun scientists with their cunning, flipping and slapping prey with their tails

Tech Insider
A picture shows a killer whale flipping over a dolphin
A dolphin soars through the air as it falls prey to a killer whale near Big Sur, California.

Josh McInnes et al. Plos ONE, 2024 (CC-BY SA 4.0)

The death of an endangered fin whale was a marine murder mystery. Now, we have a suspect: orcas.

Tech Insider
Bite wounds on a fin whale's fin is evidence of a killer whale attack, NOAA says.
Bite wounds on a fin whale's fin is evidence of a killer whale attack, NOAA says.

NOAA Fisheries/West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network, taken under federal permit 24359.

Orcas killed a great white shark for its liver in Australia, scientists confirmed, leaving the sharks one less place to hide

Tech Insider
A Great White Shark surfaces from the water near a person’s outstretched hand.
A Great White Shark surfaces from the water near a person’s outstretched hand.

Education Images/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Stunning video shows Antarctic killer whales appearing to use icebergs as scratching posts, possibly to exfoliate their skin

Tech Insider
image of orcas swimming in antarctic waters
Orcas in Antarctica, photographed in 1981.

Wolfgang Kaehler/Getty Images

Orcas may have been part of the sperm whale attack that inspired 'Moby Dick'

Tech Insider
Photo of orcas underwater on left and an animation of white whale from Moby Dick on right.
The crew of the whaleship Essex weren't just attacked by a sperm whale.

wildestanimal / Getty Images

Sailors have created a shared heavy metal playlist on Spotify to blast at orcas threatening their boats

Tech Insider
Orcas — like the one seen here at Loro Parque zoo in Spain — have been bumping into boats near Portugal and Spain.
Orcas — like the one seen here at Loro Parque zoo in Spain — have been bumping into boats near Portugal and Spain.

Marcos del Mazo/Getty Images; Business Insider

What to do if orcas attack your boat: If you see a killer whale, 'never enter the water' and turn off your engine

Tech Insider
People in a boat watching an orca whale swim toward them.
Orcas are curious animals that may approach your boat.

Portland Press Herald / Contributor / Getty Images

An orca likely 'slurped out' the liver of a half-eaten great white shark that washed up on an Australian beach, scientists say

Tech Insider
A great white shark carcass that washing up on an Australian beach and was likely attacked by a killer whale.
A great white shark carcass that washing up on an Australian beach and was likely attacked by a killer whale.

Portland Bait and Tackle

Subscribe to killer-whales