Portuguese study finds orca-boat contact dates back to 2018

A study by the Association for the Research of the Marine Environment (AIMM), based in the Algarve, documented seven episodes of physical contact between orcas and its research boat between 2018 and 2025, including one from 2018, two years before such interactions began being widely reported in 2020. Published in Marine Mammal Science, the study identified 26 orcas involved in the encounters, of which eight made direct contact with the vessel, mostly juveniles, with behaviour ranging from gentle touches to stronger pushes. It also found signs of social learning among the animals, though the reasons behind the behaviour remain unclear.

This appeared in the Pulse of 12 September 2026 — Read that edition →