I study killer whales. The so-called ‘orca uprising’ is just a misunderstanding.

After an interaction with killer whales led to the sinking of yet another vessel in the Strait of Gibraltar off the coast of Morocco earlier this month, it’s no surprise that this bizarre story has again made headlines around the world. Killer whales, also known as orcas, are the undisputed top predator in the ocean. Depending on where they live, they consume everything from salmon and herring to sharks and rays to porpoises or large baleen whales. Yet for some reason, even when given the opportunity, wild orcas have never killed a human.

So, have they suddenly turned against us? The news headlines would make you think so, with words like “attack” and “rammed” being commonly used in reports. While these incidents between orcas and vessels have been occurring in the region since 2020, this story really took off a year ago when a Live Science article reported that the cause of these so-called attacks might be a traumatized whale named White Gladis taking revenge, and younger members of her pod were copying her behavior. Cue the “orca uprising” memes and a wave of internet support for nature fighting back against all the terrible things we humans inflict upon the natural world.

The reality of the situation is a little less dramatic. I’ve spent more than 20 years observing wild killer whales and I’ve seen what they can do to their prey, whether it’s chasing down a salmon or launching a harbor seal a couple dozen feet into the air. But when I watch the videos of these so-called attacks, I see something completely different. There’s no ramming, no tearing the vessel apart. Instead it looks like another behavior we often see killer whales engage in: play.

Orcas are cultural creatures, meaning that socially learned behaviors are passed from generation to generation. Their dietary preferences, vocalizations and travel patterns are learned from family members and make them so unique from one another that they may not ever interact or interbreed with other killer whales that share the same geographic range. They are long-lived with stable social groups. And along with this societal complexity comes a unique capacity for amusement and playfulness.

In the Pacific Northwest, we have seen play in orcas manifest itself in numerous ways including the famous salmon hat fad of 1987.

One whale stumbles upon something novel, and whether through direct teaching or observation, other whales pick it up and try it, too. Sometimes these behaviors persist, but most often, just like human fads, they lose their novelty over time and fizzle out.

Reports from Spain have indicated that the orcas in that small population are primarily targeting the rudders of sailboats and other small vessels. In videos of the behavior, the whales can be seen pushing on the rudders, but their interaction looks almost gentle compared to what they are capable of. While I have no doubt that a 20-foot animal approaching your boat and pushing on it is scary for the humans aboard, from the whale’s perspective I’m not surprised they’re focusing on the rudder. Rudders move and, when humans try to regain steering control, show resistance. It’s probably more like a game of tug-of-war than a maliciously motivated attack.

Play

SeaWorld San Diego ending orca show November 10, 2015 / 04:26

While there have been hundreds of orca-vessel interactions recorded in the region over the last five years, only a few dozen of those boats have been damaged and only four have sunk. If the orcas were out to sink boats on some revenge-driven mission, I have no doubt that this number would be much higher. Instead, the sinking happens in instances where they have broken the rudder, causing the vessel to take on water. Additionally, while incidents peaked in 2023, the whales are perhaps losing interest in rudders overall, as interactions have been down 65% compared to last year. That said, it’s important to note that these vessel interactions are only occurring within this one small population, and there’s no reason to believe orcas will start interacting with boats like this anywhere else in the world.

But my real fascination with this story has been the human reaction to it. Why have so many wanted to join “Team Orca” in the supposed uprising against humanity? We live in a time when we grapple with ecological grief in response to the environmental changes we have wrought. It’s tempting to hope that someone or something will come in and save us from ourselves, and who better to fill that role than a creature both familiar and alien: the killer whale.

I think there are many things we could learn from orcas, and perhaps this is one of them. We recognize that we have done enough to the world to deserve orcas attacking us in response. Laughing at the memes is fine, but my hope is that people will also reflect on this one a bit further. Regardless of the motivation of these particular whales, what can each of us do to ensure that we coexist more peacefully with the wild world around us?