Scientists claim spate of orca attacks on European boats are the whales' way of playing: report

Apparently even whales enjoy horsing around.

The reason orca whales have been attacking European ships recently isn’t due to targeted violence, but rather that the enormous mammals consider it a form of recreation, Spanish scientists claim.

While orca pods have been terrorizing ships along Europe’s western coast and inside the Mediterranean — with a recent incident reported in Portugal over the weekend — Renaud de Stephanis, president of Spain’s Conservation, Information and Research on Cetaceans (CIRCE) said this behavior is part of the whales’ “playful” nature.

“What is happening with the Iberian orcas and boats is not an attack in the sense of aggression, predation, or territorial defense,” he told the Daily Mail. 5

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“This interaction is closer to a game than to an at