NEW From yearning for a change to cost of living, why some Canadians have left or may leave the country
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
The number of interactions between killer whales and humans has increased alarmingly in recent years.
Videos circulating the internet show the large marine mammals swimming around sailing boats or medium-sized vessels, pushing and even turning them, sometimes resulting in damaged rudders and sunk ships.
This behaviour, called disruptive, was first noted in 2020. Since then, there’s been a remarkable 298 per cent increase in the frequency of encounters from 2020 to 2022, as reported by the Atlantic Orca Working Group (GTOA), a group of Spanish and Portuguese marine scientists formed to understand the new behaviour.
The GTOA reported 52 interactions between July and November 2020 in the waters of the Strait of Gibraltar and Galicia (NW Peninsula), including the coast of Portugal. The new behaviour reached 197 interactions in 2021, and 207 were recorded in 2022.
The interactions have raised important questions about the dynamics between these majestic marine creatures and our own species.
Are killer whales rising up against humankind? A cetacean expert doesn’t think so.
On Monday, CTVNews.ca talked to Thomas Doniol-Valcroze, head of the Cetacean Research Program at Fisheries and Oceans Canada in Nanaimo, B.C., to explain the reasons behind the increase in interactions, explore the types of encounters, and examine the implications for both humans and killer whales.
GTOA found 21 different cases of historical records of interactions between orcas and humans, from the attack on the shipwrecked whaler Essex in 1820 to several incidents in Vancouver between 2003 and 2018, and even an attack suffered by a surfer.
While there is no doubt these interactions have suddenly increased in the last three years, Doniol-Valcroze said this behaviour has not been explained yet.
“There’s not really any consensus. There’s just an array of different hypotheses,” he told CTVNews.ca.
The theories range from the orcas being stressed, teaching each other this “self-defence” technique, to just that they are being playful, said the B.C. scientist.
“I'm more willing to think this is something to do about play. I mean, after all, those animals are big dolphins, and they're certainly interested in boats,” he said. “They are curious animals.”
Doniol-Valcroze said he thinks these kinds of interactions will not stop anytime soon.
“If it is really a game, and if they find it fun, they just do it more and more.”
He also added it would be interesting to see if these disruptive behaviours will become less frequent as the young individuals grow or if they will teach this to new generations.
While these are still somewhat harmless interactions, “you wouldn't want this behaviour to spread in the population, but it has the potential to do so.”
The cultural transmission of behaviours in orcas can be transmitted from one group of killers to another, explained Doniol-Valcroze.
In British Columbia, there are various populations, like the northern and southern residents, which hunt fish, and there are also the Bigg’s killer whales, called transient killer whales, which hunt other marine mammals.
“There's behaviour we've seen being transmitted from one group to another, but we haven't seen that happen across populations,” said the B.C. scientist explaining populations between orcas in Canada and those in Europe do not interact with each other, making the transmission of behaviour unlikely.
The videos show a few individual whales, mostly juvenile, of the Iberian orca population – a unique subpopulation of orcas that lives in the northeast Atlantic. In these episodes, animals intentionally approach the boats and focus on the submerged moving parts, like the rudder.
“They are still wild animals, and they're really big and strong, so it doesn't take much for them to break a sailboat,” said the cetacean expert.
Doniol-Valcroze said the behaviours shown in the Spain and Portugal interactions are not the orcas’ regular signs of hunting: fast speed, water splashing, co-ordinated communication, etc.
In the videos, “they’re fairly calm, they don’t seem agitated, and they are certainly not going after the humans in the boat,” he said.
He added he has had similar interactions when researching B.C. where killer whales, belugas and dolphins will follow the research boats and put their heads right behind the propellers.
“It’s kind of unnerving because you wouldn't want these animals to be hurt. But they seem to enjoy the feeling of the propeller and the flow of the water and the bubbles on them, and that's quite widespread,” he said.
“It feels, to me, like these whales are going to sailboats, and maybe they see the propeller is not turning, and they want to play with things and try to get things in motion.”
While there is no reason for people to be afraid, Doniol-Valcroze said the best thing to do is to keep a distance from the animal.
“Maintain your course and your speed, basically not doing any sudden changes,” he said.
He also added a good rule of thumb is to remember these are wild animals protected by law and shouldn’t be harassed or bothered by humans.
“It’s best to just not try to interfere with anything they're doing like socializing or hunting for their prey,” he said.
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Forging ahead with increasing Canada's capital gains inclusion rate 'sows division,' and is a 'shortsighted' way to improve the deficit, business groups are warning Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
Stormy Daniels will return to the witness stand Thursday in Donald Trump's hush money trial as the defence tries to undermine the credibility of the porn actor's salacious testimony about their alleged sexual encounter and the money she was paid to keep quiet.
Amid evidence of rising breast cancer rates among young women in Canada, one Toronto startup is offering a contactless and radiation-free device that can help doctors identify suspicious changes in breast tissue. The company, Linda Lifetech, says this can lead to earlier detection of breast cancer.
Forecasters warned a wave of dangerous storms in the U.S. could wash over parts of the South early Thursday, a day after severe weather with damaging tornadoes and large hail killed at least three people in the region.
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Whether passionate about Poirot or hungry for Holmes, Winnipeg mystery obsessives have had a local haunt for over 30 years in which to search out their latest page-turners.
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.