Attacks by killer whales that crashed boats off the coast of the Iberian Sea, in the region of Spain, may be motivated by revenge, scientists say. Lately the mammals have had to shoot down and crash at least three ships.

Mammals were supposed to bring down and sink at least three ships – Photo: Reproduction / ND

Information provided by WOL. In an interview with the Live Science website, University of Aveiro marine biologist Alfredo López Fernández said the explanation could lie in past trauma sustained by the animals. Most of the episodes were harmless, he said, but it could have started after a female killer whale had an accident with a boat, leading her to attack other boats.

“Killer whales do this on purpose, of course we don’t know the origin or motivation, but the defensive behavior based on trauma as the source of all this is gaining more strength for us every day,” said Fernandez.

Killer whales suspected in video where whale ‘appears out of nowhere’ and attacks fishermen’s boat

The video, which is circulating on social media, shows a whale attacking a boat with fishermen. The images show the boat circling through the ice-covered area as the whale “appears out of nowhere” and lunges at the vessel.

Panic is evident, and the fishermen immediately leave the place, fortunately, in this case, alive.

Those who released the material blamed killer whales for the attack, but it is possible that it was a different species: the bowhead whale. This hypothesis is quite plausible due to the animal’s size and color pattern.

Killer whale attacks on humans in the wild have not been recorded, only in captivity. But this video may indicate that they are really good at killing people. pic.twitter.com/3EUmGiQ5qj

— Macrodosing (@MacrodosingPod) May 18, 2023