Happy New Year!
I know this has been a challenging year in all kinds of ways, but I hope you found joy and peace in there somewhere! And I’m sending you all my best wishes, fondest hopes, and good vibes for a wonderful 2024.
I’m taking a week off to celebrate the old year and anticipate the coming one, so here’s a rerun of one of the more popular newsletters of 2023. Hope you enjoy!
Sometime around 2020, off the coasts of Portugal and Spain, orcas began harassing boats, biting at their rudders, often completely disabling the vessels. As yet, no humans have been harmed, but several boats have been sunk. One recent attack was on a Swiss sailing yacht called Champagne. The passengers had to abandon the boat, which sank as it was being towed to shore.
No one knows why whales have taken to sinking boats. But this is happening in a very well-travelled sea lane. According to Scientific American, many whales in that area have injuries from unfortunate encounters with boats or fishing lines. Could it be that the whales have finally had enough? Maybe. One of the top theories is that this is indeed a matter of revenge. An adult female orca named White Gladis was involved in the first incident, and juvenile males seem to be behind most of the subsequent attacks. Might White Gladis have taught younger whales how to wreck a boat? Some scientists say she might.
But it could be something much simpler — and far goofier. Orcas are prone to fads. For example, in the summer of 1987, young orcas began swimming around with dead salmon on their heads. A few whales started doing it, and pretty soon the salmon hat was the backward baseball cap of the orca world. By the next summer, salmon hats were so last year.
Still, my money is on revenge. And if that’s the case, it’s going to be hard not to side with these critically endangered whales. The only thing that surprises me about the boat attacks is that whales have taken this long to do it.
Until next year,
Avery