There's Something in the Water
All hail White Gladis
The first attack occurred in the Strait of Gibraltar — an area known for plentiful boat traffic and generally thought of as a safe space for sailors.
The waves were calm and the sky above was bright so the passengers were surprised when, suddenly, the boat began to rock. Then there were noises: long, sweeping, scrapes — like nails on a chalkboard except they were coming from the hull.
The sounds and the movements only intensified when the passengers and crew began to comprehend what was happening: the boat was being attacked from underneath. By a pod of killer whales.
Some passengers of later attacks would describe it as if the two-ton boat became “a nutshell” being shaken by the group of orcas. The behavior hasn’t stopped. In fact, since that initial attack (in May 2020), the Atlantic Orca Working Group has recorded 505 cases of orcas interacting with boats. Almost none of those interactions have seen the orcas get physical with boats — but they have, in some cases. In three instances, the orcas damaged a boat so badly that it sank (but no passengers have been hurt in the attacks).
Biologists now say that the behavior likely stems from an injured female matriarch named White Gladis. The theory is that Gladis was injured by a boat around the time the attacks began, and is now lashing out against all vessels (and teaching others in her pod to do the same) as a defense mechanism.
There are other theories, too, like that this behavior is simply a cultural fad in one orca population and could come and go at a whim (fads occur often in orca populations! In 1987, killer whales in the Puget Sound began wearing dead salmon on their heads, like hats, for no apparent reason).
But to me, it sure sounds like Gladis is seeking her revenge on something that wronged her, and is now being studied for her own behavior (proof that just about every woman in the animal kingdom is subject to being gaslit, I guess).
It’s certainly a good thing that this critically-endangered population is getting the spotlight, considering they are up against considerable odds (due to climate change, they have begun to move to areas with lots of boat and military activity, so these issues could persist).
And we may never know why the boat attacks are happening. Or why the salmon hats became “a thing” all those years ago.
As one scientist explained of the orca in a September 2022 interview, “These are individuals, and every animal has its own personality. We’re just barely cracking the surface about our understanding about their behavior.”
White eco crewneck Orca conservancy sweatshirt // black and white Adidas Sambas // ergonomic full-support stretch leggings // Racquet Club baseball cap // Mother socks // Hérmes lip oil // gold earrings // Books tote
Recommended reading/listening:
The 2023 Virgin Mary is a crocodile in a Costa Rican zoo.
Shawn Mendes used the smog from the Canadian wildfires to announce his latest single, in a move that has echoes of that cringey viral video of celebrities singing Imagine during the pandemic.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito discussed life and death in the latest Interview and it was very interesting (we recently watched Fubar and it was everything you want from a big, dumb show—lots of action, not-great acting, and some funny laugh lines from Fortune Feimster.)
And I’ll leave you with this…