Orca’s fashion

An exploration of unusual orca behaviour patterns, comparing recent boat interactions around the Iberian Peninsula with historical examples of temporary behavioural trends, like the 1987 salmon-carrying phenomenon in Puget Sound.

The waters around the Iberian Peninsula (mostly reported off the Spanish and Portuguese coasts) have been of interest for marine biologists due to a notable increase in interactions between orcas and boats. Having intricate social structures and intelligence, orcas display behaviours that may be influenced by a multitude of factors such as environmental and social ones.

Scientists postulate that these interactions might be representative of a transient “fad” within orca pods. For perspective, in 1987, there was an observable trend among the southern resident orcas of Puget Sound, who took to carrying dead salmon on their heads. This behaviour, while seemingly anomalous at the time, did not persist.

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