A group of killer whales has attacked a trio of sailing boats just a few miles off a popular luxurious marina.
The attack occurred near the Sotogrande marina in Andalusia, Spain where the whales bit the rudder of three yachts.
It comes after the boats sailed from the west of the Strait of Gibraltar where they were last attacked.
Scientists are now trying to work out if it was the same group of orcas that carried out both attacks.
To prevent a repeat attack, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (Miteco), is advising sailboats to only sail in shallow waters close to the coast.
Scientists believe the adult orcas are trying to teach young how to hunt but the exact reason for the act is not known.
Miteco has marked out red areas of marine charts to indicate ships should stay away from these areas, which are normally warmer waters which attract killer whales for breeding and raising their young.
Commenting on the attacks Lewis Stagnetto, of the Gibraltar-based Nautilus Group said: “They are big predators used to hunting huge tuna, so they need to hone their skills to catch them,”
“They’re not there to hunt people, so it’s important to understand this.”
The Atlantic Orca Working Group, composed of marine life researchers from Spain and Portugal, has been studying killer whales near the Iberian Peninsula and incidents in the area for the past three years.
In 2020, the group recorded 52 such occurrences, resulting in some cases of damaged rudders. The number increased to 197 in 2021 and further rose to 207 in 2022.
They believe the killer whales are deliberately targeting boats across a wide area.