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I dont really get how this is suggested seriously as a new behavior. The inspiration for Moby Dick, one of the most read books in English, was based on a ship

I dont really get how this is suggested seriously as a new behavior. The inspiration for Moby Dick, one of the most read books in English, was based on a ship sunk my sperm whales: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essex_(whaleship) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essex_(whaleship) Yes I know orcas and sperm whales are different, but its weird that this is suggested a new behavior in general. And not just a new counting of something that has been going on for centuries.

echelon 3y ago
Orcas haven't been ramming boats for decades. Now, all of a sudden, we're seeing the behavior crop up all over the place. This is new behavior that is being communicated and taught. Imagine when they discover that there are calorie sources aboard the ships. Orcas are known to eat terrestrial mammals such as swimming deer and moose. They've been observed hunting swimming dogs.
- elorant 3y ago
  If they wanted to eat humans they had plenty of chances. Incidents where an orca attacked a human are rare, with the notable exception of orcas in captivity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orca_attacks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orca_attacks
  - echelon 3y ago
    > If they wanted to eat humans they had plenty of chances. Have they, though? Captive orcas aren't opportunistically hunting with their pod, and they're constantly kept fed. Their behaviors are reinforced. Apart from captivity, human swimmers seldom interact in the wild. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Orcas eat land mammals, and we have plenty of evidence for that.
    - elorant 3y ago
      Orcas are dolphins. Humans are in pretty friendly terms with them. Here's an incident where a bunch of swimmers came in close proximity to orcas. They seem quite friendly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ3mDXF3bcE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ3mDXF3bcE
    - lost_tourist 3y ago
      The ones in captivity did it because they're basically an imprisoned intelligent creature, traumatized and borderline psychotic living in such confined spaces.
masklinn 3y ago
A single whaler in 1820 versus a spate of events since a few months back seem rather unrelated, orcas have not been ramming boats all over for the last two centuries. Though I guess it’s possible that they’re also avenging or preemptively defending themselves.
- pinkcan 3y ago
  not a lot of people knew how to write back then?
  - parineum 3y ago
    But a lot of people knew how to tell stories in bars and a lot of people who knew how to write spent time in bars.
- reaperducer 3y ago
  A single whaler in 1820 versus a spate of events since a few months back seem rather unrelated Only if you assume that the inspirational event in 1820 was the only time it happened. I don't think the Georgians had the ability or inclination to document every time a whale took down a ship around the whole planet.
- jackfoxy 3y ago
  It was a single well-documented event with survivors to tell the story. And the story of the survivors itself is a harrowing tale. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essex_(whaleship) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essex_(whaleship) It's entirely possible there were other incidents and the loss of ship and crew was just written off to "lost at sea".
koheripbal 3y ago
This comment is strange. Sperm whale from Moby dick's era routinely flight back when harpooned. Today's killer whale behavior is clearly new, and nearly the only violent behavior seen in any whale in a hundred years. .. and with multiple recent reports, it is a new trend.
- fasthands9 3y ago
  I'm skeptical it is new. An orca ran into a boat causing no injuries or real damage. If this had happened 10 years ago would it have been reported in any way - either on the news or by a database? I think an easier explanation is someone started tracking this and now boat owners know to report it, because they have heard that someone is tracking it. There is now an Orca Reporting form: https://www.theca.org.uk/orcas/interaction-report-form https://www.theca.org.uk/orcas/interaction-report-form I believe it is only running since 2020. I realize the argument you are making is that it was created/publicized AFTER a couple orca attacks. I'm suggesting that if this online portal had existed for anytime in history you would have gotten reports consistently. I would wager this is mostly, if not all, an observation bias.
  - Scarblac 3y ago
    It got in the news in 2020 when it happened near Gibraltar; since then it has been reported in the news many times, 250 attacks near Gibraltar have been reported. And now last week one near Scotland, and this one this week. Surely if it happened all the time, and it was in the news for so long, it would have been noticed and reported from all over the world?
    - fasthands9 3y ago
      But the 2020 incident could have just captured the media attention arbitrarily because of good timing. If there had been a similar attack in 1980 would it have captured the media attention so much without the internet? Probably not. I dont know every incident but this one in Scotland involved an orca ramming into a boat and causing zero injuries and no actual damage to the boat. How would this even have been reported before the internet? A tv anchor decides to dedicate a minute of their broadcast to describing a boat that collided with an orca?
bequanna 3y ago
Despite all the evidence we have of history repeating itself, people constantly want to convince themselves that they are somehow separate from the past and “this time is different”.

echelon 3y ago

Orcas haven't been ramming boats for decades. Now, all of a sudden, we're seeing the behavior crop up all over the place. This is new behavior that is being communicated and taught. Imagine when they discover that there are calorie sources aboard the ships. Orcas are known to eat terrestrial mammals such as swimming deer and moose. They've been observed hunting swimming dogs.

elorant 3y ago
If they wanted to eat humans they had plenty of chances. Incidents where an orca attacked a human are rare, with the notable exception of orcas in captivity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orca_attacks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orca_attacks
- echelon 3y ago
  > If they wanted to eat humans they had plenty of chances. Have they, though? Captive orcas aren't opportunistically hunting with their pod, and they're constantly kept fed. Their behaviors are reinforced. Apart from captivity, human swimmers seldom interact in the wild. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Orcas eat land mammals, and we have plenty of evidence for that.
  - elorant 3y ago
    Orcas are dolphins. Humans are in pretty friendly terms with them. Here's an incident where a bunch of swimmers came in close proximity to orcas. They seem quite friendly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ3mDXF3bcE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ3mDXF3bcE
  - lost_tourist 3y ago
    The ones in captivity did it because they're basically an imprisoned intelligent creature, traumatized and borderline psychotic living in such confined spaces.

masklinn 3y ago

A single whaler in 1820 versus a spate of events since a few months back seem rather unrelated, orcas have not been ramming boats all over for the last two centuries. Though I guess it’s possible that they’re also avenging or preemptively defending themselves.

pinkcan 3y ago
not a lot of people knew how to write back then?
- parineum 3y ago
  But a lot of people knew how to tell stories in bars and a lot of people who knew how to write spent time in bars.
reaperducer 3y ago
A single whaler in 1820 versus a spate of events since a few months back seem rather unrelated Only if you assume that the inspirational event in 1820 was the only time it happened. I don't think the Georgians had the ability or inclination to document every time a whale took down a ship around the whole planet.
jackfoxy 3y ago
It was a single well-documented event with survivors to tell the story. And the story of the survivors itself is a harrowing tale. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essex_(whaleship) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essex_(whaleship) It's entirely possible there were other incidents and the loss of ship and crew was just written off to "lost at sea".

koheripbal 3y ago

This comment is strange. Sperm whale from Moby dick's era routinely flight back when harpooned. Today's killer whale behavior is clearly new, and nearly the only violent behavior seen in any whale in a hundred years. .. and with multiple recent reports, it is a new trend.

fasthands9 3y ago
I'm skeptical it is new. An orca ran into a boat causing no injuries or real damage. If this had happened 10 years ago would it have been reported in any way - either on the news or by a database? I think an easier explanation is someone started tracking this and now boat owners know to report it, because they have heard that someone is tracking it. There is now an Orca Reporting form: https://www.theca.org.uk/orcas/interaction-report-form https://www.theca.org.uk/orcas/interaction-report-form I believe it is only running since 2020. I realize the argument you are making is that it was created/publicized AFTER a couple orca attacks. I'm suggesting that if this online portal had existed for anytime in history you would have gotten reports consistently. I would wager this is mostly, if not all, an observation bias.
- Scarblac 3y ago
  It got in the news in 2020 when it happened near Gibraltar; since then it has been reported in the news many times, 250 attacks near Gibraltar have been reported. And now last week one near Scotland, and this one this week. Surely if it happened all the time, and it was in the news for so long, it would have been noticed and reported from all over the world?
  - fasthands9 3y ago
    But the 2020 incident could have just captured the media attention arbitrarily because of good timing. If there had been a similar attack in 1980 would it have captured the media attention so much without the internet? Probably not. I dont know every incident but this one in Scotland involved an orca ramming into a boat and causing zero injuries and no actual damage to the boat. How would this even have been reported before the internet? A tv anchor decides to dedicate a minute of their broadcast to describing a boat that collided with an orca?

bequanna 3y ago

Despite all the evidence we have of history repeating itself, people constantly want to convince themselves that they are somehow separate from the past and “this time is different”.