cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/2712557

For the past 18 months, orcas have been attacking boats and yachts in the Mediterranean Sea near the Strait of Gibraltar. A new report of an orca boat attack in the North Sea near Scotland is a surprising development.

Itā€™s possible that the orcas are displaying ā€œcultural evolutionā€ and other pods are learning behaviors from one another Scientists long assumed that humans were the only animals capable of ā€œcultural evolutionā€ā€”that is, learned behaviors developed beyond the innate skills gifted to us by genetic evolution. But for a few decades now, the animal kingdom has been providing evidence to the contrary.

Monkeys and whales have shown a particular gift for cultural evolution, and other animals outside the class Mammalia have shown simpler forms of collective learning and adaptation.

Now, the majestic orca (Orcinus orca) is under scrutiny for the same kind of behavior, as boats in the Mediterranean near the Strait of Gibraltarā€”and surprisingly, off the coast of Scotland in the North Seaā€”appear to be specifically targeting boats. Although this behavior was well-known in the Iberian orca population, itā€™s a shocking development that orcas seemingly unaffiliated with the Mediterranean pod are exhibiting similar behaviors.

ā€œIā€™d be reluctant to say it cannot be learned from [the southern population],ā€ Conor Ryan, a scientist whoā€™s studied orca pods off the Scottish coast, told The Guardian. ā€œItā€™s possible that this ā€˜fadā€™ is leapfrogging through the various pods/communities.ā€

Despite being known as ā€œkiller whales,ā€ orcas are actually members of the dolphin family and are highly sociable, using complex vocalizations to communicate with one another. The learn matrilineally, meaning ā€œgrandmotherā€ orcas (which can live for 80 years or more) become matriarchs of their pods and pass on vital hunting skills.

With three boats sunk and upwards of 100 others damaged in Iberia, scientists think that this behavior may come from one such ā€œgrandmotherā€ orca named White Gladis. The thought is that she may have survived a traumatic event earlier in life involving a boat, and has since taught her pod how to attack them. Itā€™s also possible that these attacks are timed with Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) migrations, and the orcas perceive boats as competition for food.

Of course, humans are not necessarily innocent victims in these orca hit-and-runs, as boats cause noise pollution and other hazards for the creatures and other marine life. But, regardless, how exactly did an orca in the North Sea learn this seemingly isolated behavior from 2,000 miles away? Some scientists think that highly mobile pods could be capable of teaching these boat-destroying tricks to individuals in other pods.

So, will orcas always be on the hunt for boats and yachts of all shapes and sizes? Well, not necessarily. As seemingly easy as it was for the orcas to pick up this hunting trick, itā€™s possible that this ā€œcultural evolutionā€ will disappear just as rapidly. Similars shifts have happened before. For example, the website Salon reports that, a few years back, bottlenose dolphins were carrying sea sponges on their noses of the coast of Australia. But as quickly as this ā€œfadā€ appeared, it became scarce, and soon disappeared entirely.

Scientists donā€™t know how long this particular ā€œcultural evolutionā€ will stick around. But considering our bang-up job protecting the planet, it almost feels like thereā€™s a measure of justified cosmic karma at play here.

  • silence7@slrpnk.net
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    1 year ago

    The otter might just be one that grew up around humans, and is therefore not behaving in the way they normally do:

    The animal, officially known as otter 841, was born in captivity ā€” because its mother had also been too friendly with humans ā€” and then successfully released into the wild in June 2020, Connor told NPR. It wasnā€™t until September 2022 that she started exhibiting her bizarre behavior at Steamer Lane.

    • j_roby@slrpnk.net
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      1 year ago

      Yea, please donā€™t misunderstand me. I donā€™t actually believe that these are all linked. It is making me curious tho of what climate change will do / is doing to animal behavior in the wild overall. Just something Iā€™ve been pondering.