Over the last five years, roughly 700 orca run-ins have been recorded, according to the Atlantic Orca Working Group-GTOA, a partnership of Spanish and Portuguese scientists that monitors the Iberian killer whale population. Why Iberian orcas are attacking ships in the Strait of Gibraltar, one of the world’s busiest waterways, has quickly become one of the terrifying mysteries of the sea. An Iberian orca is captured tracking a vessel in the Strait of Gibraltar in footage obtained by rights group WeWhale. “They need to ram, they need to hit, they need to bite, to isolate this large tuna. The subspecies striking boats is called the Iberian orca, and its future is anything but certain.

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Persons: Manuel Merianda, Merianda, Angela Neil, ”, Janek Andre, WeWhale, Andre, ” Bruno Diaz Lopez, Michael Fiorentino, orcas, ” Andre Organizations: Ocean, Orca, NBC News, NBC, orcas, WeWhale, Dolphin Research Institute, Coastal Management, Hoyo, International Union for Conservation Locations: GIBRALTAR, Africa, Spanish, Gibraltar, Barbate, Spain, Strait, Atlantic