The Sun spoke to three experts who detailed how they track orcas and why locating the gladis killer whales are so crucial
AFTER a spate of killer whale attacks off the coast of Portugal, a crack team of orca hunters are vowing to help end the violence out at sea.
A pod of killer whales have rammed three yachts in the past week - with experts now laying out their plans to keep both the powerful orcas and humans safe.
Five sailors had to be rescued from a sinking vessel in Portugal last Saturday after the crew sent a panicked SOS call saying the boat was being smashed up by a group of killer whales.
A second vessel was also immobilised in the same area after it was struck in a similar fashion and left with its rudder snapped.
Just 48 hours later, a third boat was hit by "successive collisions" - believed to be caused by the same gang of orcas near to Lisbon.
Bernardo Queiroz, the General Director of Mercedes-Benz Oceanic Lounge, was one of the first people to notice the killer whales approaching the sailors last weekend.
He was running a dolphin tour at the time on another vessel and quickly sped over to help disperse the orcas from the boat.
Despite his efforts, the yacht took on too much water after its rudder broke following several heavy blows as it soon sank.
Mr Queiroz told The Sun he believes all three recent incidents are linked after tracking the movements of the apex predators.
He revealed how the pod is said to be led by the oldest in the group - a female matriarch known as Toni.
He explained: "We know the names of each individual animal and each has their own personality.
"In this group we have Toni who is the oldest of the killer whales in the area. She's considered the keeper of the knowledge of the orcas, because they transmit the knowledge to each other."
Toni, 57, was joined by older male Pingu, 28, and three youngsters known as Kora, 11, Scarlet, 14, and one other called IB48, Mr Queiroz said.
Over the years, reports of attacks off the coast of Portugal and near the Strait of Gibraltar have increased.
These two areas appear to be the epicentre of the globe's rampant orca strikes.
One man who dedicates much of his time to tracking and developing in-depth reports on killer whales is Rui Alves.
The Portuguese native launched a website in 2022, called orcas.pt, that tracks orca encounters with boats.
It emcompasses both sightings and attacks in and around Portugal and Gibraltar.
Both orca experts work together to map out sightings and alert the public and fellow sailors about which areas to avoid.
One of the pieces of data being sent back is on which of the orcas are known as "gladis" killer whales.
Gladis' are the name that biologists and experts give to the orcas that slam into boats.
Some of the seven tonne mammals are calm and unphased by boats whereas others are known to be more brave and curious by the odd movements above the water.
The world's most infamous orca is dubbed White Gladis and is said to be the ringleader of a particular pod known to be behind several attacks - smashing into boats and causing them to sink.
It has been suggested that the so-called gang leader could even be teaching younger members of the group such as her lieutenants Black and Grey Gladis to strike the vessels.
Mr Queiroz said noticing which of the killer whales are known to approach boats is a crucial job for his team.
He added: "We are very involved with orca conservation and we are talking with Spanish and French marine biologists all the time.
"Normally, we go out every time we see one and make a photo ID to send to marine biologists.
"This way we know about the Iberian orca population which are less than 30 right now so they are an endangered species, and we have to protect them - even if they are slamming the boats."
Mr Alves also speaks with sailors ahead of their planned trips and gives them advice to help them stay safe.
He had even warned the skipper in charge of the now sunken vessel last weekend about a new pod of killer whales which had recently arrived in the region.
Mr Alves explained: "People should prepare for these trips. Orcas are a risk, like the weather is or like big whales.
"So sailors have to prevent risk. They have to go to websites to check on the position of the orcas in the last few days.
"We are doing a job of spreading the information and sharing the information with sailors, in order for them to prevent an attack."
He added: "Sometimes, I'm saying to sailors if you are around Lisbon, stay in the port for two, three days, and see where the orcas go.
"My approach is always that we can sail in the areas with orcas but we have to be more careful and we have to prepare the crew. We have to protect sailors and orcas. It's not only one side or another side."
The orca hunters are trying to ensure the safety of the endangered mammals.
Thomas Le Coz is the captain of the Sea Shepherd France which prides itself on being the "world's most aggressive ocean conservation organisation".
Their job is to defend, preserve and protect the wildlife of the oceans - especially orcas.
But Le Coz says the reputation of orcas is being seriously harmed.
The "violent" attacks have created a sense of fear for both tourists and sailors in certain regions.
Some have even started to devise dangerous ways in order to scare off and repel incoming orcas.
Le Coz told The Sun: "Sailors get scared and we've seen in forums of skippers where they try to find ideas and way to repel the orcas.
"For example, we know that many, many boats are equipped with firecrackers, very big fat firecrackers, that they throw at the orcas when they approach the boat."
Now, Mr Alves gives out advice to sailors on how to stay safe in orca-infested waters through peaceful measures.
Oceanic explorers are often left in fear of killer whales due to their dark past.
But the orca tracking expert views it as his job to repair the relationship between man and killer whale through his research.
He always recommends doing a number of key things to ensure the best protection out at sea.
"There are two or three things that maybe you could do and that is only going in very shallow water," Mr Alves said.
"And the first thing to do once an orca is spotted is to react and switch on the motor.
"When you have a motor, you can react faster than when you are sailing to go away from the area in the direction of shallow waters."
How to stay safe
All three experts are in agreement that the orcas are not out to cause trouble despite what footage may show.
The orcas are simply in their homes and when they see a boat moving and producing bubbles on the water it attracts them over.
But there are a few key tips on how to stay safe as a sailor.
Mr Queiroz explained: "People don't have to be afraid to go on the water when orcas are around, you just have to be extra, extra careful.
"Normally try to run the boat above 65ft of depth line. It's not completely safe, but it reduces the amount of encounters that you are going to have.
"Don't sail by night because it's more dangerous if you have a problem.
"Try to sail with other boats nearby so you have a safe place to call if you have any problem.
"And mostly keep an eye on the tracking websites because it's where you can find all the information on where they are."
Another useful piece of advice the experts had was to simply avoid areas where orcas are known to be active.
Killer whales are known to populate one area before moving away after a few days as they continue to swim in pods.
So the best tip to avoid a clash is to just avoid the orcas.
Mr Le Coz added: "When there are orcas in an area when they are spotted, it's always being shared on different groups
"So the best thing to do is not to go there basically and avoid the area altogether.
"This didn't happen on Saturday with the sailing boats as they knew they were in the area and decided to go anyway and the boat sank so that was a big mistake.
"Unfortunately all the last few times have been a similar situation with boats going through an area where we know there are orcas, but they decide to go anyway."