It’s easy to be misunderstood if your name has the word “murderer” in it.

Still, it appears to have been a wild year for killer whales. From “attacking” and sinking several boats off the coast of southwest Europe to hunting great white sharks around South Africa and Australia, this black-and-white behemoth is living up to its name as of 2023. It looked like.

The whale’s surprising behavior has repeatedly put the spotlight on one of the ocean’s top predators since spring, spawning internet memes and wondering if the whale is just playing around or planning revenge. It’s fueling debate about what’s going on.

But for scientists, the recent orca antics are more fascinating than horrifying, with some saying they show how much there is still to learn about these highly intelligent marine animals.

Perhaps the biggest orca news of the year was a series of mysterious incidents in which killer whales appeared to ram boats off the coast of the Iberian Peninsula. In May, three killer whales collided with the rudder and side of a sailing yacht in the area, causing the yacht to sink.

This “attack” comes amid an observed increase in encounters between killer whales and boats since 2020. Monica Wieland Shields, director of the Orca Behavior Institute, a nonprofit research institute in Washington, said hundreds of incidents have been reported during this time.

At least four ships have sunk in the past two years due to the damage, she said.

No injuries or deaths were reported, and in most cases the whales did not sink boats. However, the incident became so famous that it sparked a meme that heralded the beginning of the “Orca Rebellion” and the “Orca Wars.” Many social media users supported “Team Killer Whales” and claimed that whales had finally fought back against humans.

But Shields said the sinking evoked real fear as well as light-hearted fun.

“So many people have come to my state of Washington this year and asked, ‘Is it safe to see whales here? How big is our boat? Is it possible that a whale will attack this ship?” she said. “I’m worried that instead of people leaving with a sense of respect and fascination with whales, they’re leaving with a fear of whales that’s probably not warranted.”

Among experts, the incident off the coast of the Iberian Peninsula is puzzling and has sparked debate about the whale’s intentions.

Many scientists believe that killer whales do not attack at all.

“They’re not afraid of boats, and there’s nothing to eat there,” said Robert Pittman, a marine ecologist at Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Research Institute. “They are intelligent, social animals, but they probably live in environments that are less stimulating for their mental abilities.”

So whales sometimes stumble upon something they find interesting and repeat the behavior for a while, he said.

Shields said videos of some of the incidents do not appear to show the killer whale intentionally aiming at the boat’s rudder or hull. Rather, she thought, the animals were likely acting out of curiosity and playfulness.

Josh McInnes, a behavioral ecologist at the University of British Columbia, agreed, noting that killer whales are known to engage in social learning by spreading and picking up behaviors within their pods. That could explain the series of boat encounters, he said.

Mr McInnes compared the behavior to roughhousing.

“Orcas are very athletic. They can grow up to 25 feet long and weigh up to 80,000 pounds, so when they come into physical contact with objects, they can get a little bit forceful,” he said.

Mr Shields said given the whale’s size, it would likely cause much more damage to ships and yachts if it carried out a coordinated attack.

Additionally, the idea that whales are standing up and fighting back doesn’t fit with what scientists know about killer whales.

“Orcas just want to have fun,” Pittman said. “Revenge is not inherently beneficial. Unless you are human, you have no adaptive capacity at all.”

But encounters between killer whales and boats weren’t the only stories making headlines this year. The whale also attracted attention for its ruthless hunting techniques.

In October, the carcass of a great white shark with its liver ripped out washed up on a beach near Portland, Australia. Researchers determined that killer whales were the culprit.

McInnes said killer whales do not normally prey on sharks, but they are capable of preying on sharks and have been previously observed preying on them in waters of Australia, Africa and even the Pacific Northwest. It is said that there is.

And why were sharks missing certain organs? Experts say this was purely practical.

“Sharks generally aren’t very nutritious for killer whales because they’re made of cartilage,” McInnes said. “But the liver is rich in fats and lipids, so it’s a very nutritious part to eat.”

In the past, killer whales have been known to target the liver when preying on sharks. Since 2017, scientists have been tracking the hunts of two killer whales, Port and Starboard, who killed at least eight great white sharks off the coast of South Africa and washed their liverless carcasses ashore.

However, orca behavior recorded in different parts of the world is generally unrelated. McInnes said different populations of killer whales are genetically distinct and do not normally socialize or interact.

But by studying all the observed events, scientists can gain broader insight into what killer whales are capable of and how they live.

Shields said she had “mixed feelings” about the attention that killer whales will receive in 2023. If anything, she said she hopes the headline will inspire people to get more involved in conservation efforts.

“I really hope that people take away from these stories a certain fascination and appreciation for killer whales,” Shields said. “They are found in every ocean and are present all over the planet. The ocean body closest to where you live is probably home to killer whales. So there’s a lot to learn. there is.”