Watch the video to see the terrifying moment a pod of seven orcas SINK a sailing yacht in 45 minutes by ripping a hole in the hull and swimming off with the rudder before terrified crew flee on life raft off Portugal.
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What Happened?
This is the astonishing moment seven orcas destroyed a sailing yacht and sank it in 45 minutes, with the terrified crew fleeing for their lives on a life raft near Portugal. Footage from November 1 shows the orcas circling and bumping the vessel, called Smousse while crew members Elliott, Augustin, Roman and Corentin were on board. Augustin said that when they heard the boat shaking and a loud noise at the back of the yacht, they realized they were surrounded by orcas.
As the attack continued, the boat eventually began to crack because of the force of the orca's jaws and the killer whales ripped a hole in the hull of the 40ft boat. Augustin went to the back of the boat and realized it was fast filling with water and the men had to flee.
What Scientists and Researchers Think
While the reason for the behavior remains unclear, scientists suggest that orcas may like the water pressure produced by a boat's propeller. Speaking to NPR, Renaud de Stephanis, president and coordinator at CIRCE Conservación Information and Research, explained: 'What we think is that they're asking to have the propeller in the face.' When the animals experience a propeller that isn't in motion, 'they get kind of frustrated and that's why they break it,' de Stephanis added.
However, that wouldn't explain an encounter off the coast of Spain last year, in which orcas attacked a boat with its propeller in motion.
Researchers believe that the attacks are being carried out by just a few young male orcas and could simply be another temporary cultural fad. Other examples of temporary cultural fads in teenage orcas include playing with prawn and crab traps and wearing dead fish on their heads as hats.
In a 2004 study, researchers from Dalhousie University explained: 'An example is the "dead-salmon carrying" fad of the well-studied "southern resident", fish-eating, orcas of the Puget Sound area of the northeast Pacific. 'It began with a female in K-Pod carrying around a dead salmon in 1987, spread to the other two pods in the southern resident community over a 5–6 week period and then stopped. 'It was noted a few times the following summer, and then never again.'
Thankfully, there have been no recorded orca killings of humans in the wild.[/color]
Article Courtesy of Daily Mail.
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