Story by Graham Keeley
A killer whale has been found with suspected shotgun wounds off the Spanish coast.
The rare Iberian orca known as Toñi was pictured with holes in its dorsal fin, which whale conservation charities said were evidence of a gun attack.
Spanish authorities have opened an investigation and contacted Portuguese counterparts for assistance.
In recent years, a series of yachts were attacked by orcas as they sailed in the Strait of Gibraltar and off the coast of Portugal, with some vessels being badly damaged or sunk.
The WeWhale and Iberian Orca Guardians team, which works on the Save the Iberian Orca campaign, observed Toñi a few weeks ago, when these injuries were not present.
The sudden appearance of the wounds on Aug 12, together with their number, size and distribution, led campaigners to believe that they were the result of a shotgun discharge.
Janek Andre, the founder and president of WeWhale and Iberian Orca Guardians, told The Telegraph the incident was reported to the Spanish environment ministry, as orcas were a protected species in Spanish waters.
“Toñi was spotted between Tarifa in Spain and Tangiers in Morocco in the Strait of Gibraltar. We recognise it is the same orca as we have been studying their dorsals for three years,” he said.
“We noticed what looked like shotgun pellet wounds and checked this with people in the ministry who know about shotguns, [and they] said it looked like pellet wounds.”
The sudden appearance of the wounds led campaigners to believe that they were the result of a shotgun attack – Cristina Otero Sabio/Iberian Orca Guardians
He added: “It is another dimension of human aggression towards the orca. Who the hell would shoot a critically endangered species?”
The organisations are preserving the original records from when they observed the orca a few weeks ago and will continue documenting Toñi closely, including her physical condition and behaviour.
The Iberian orca population is critically endangered and consists of only a small number of surviving individuals.
Toñi, known as “la Abuela” or “the Grandmother” is the oldest known orca within this population.
Sara Aagesen, Spain’s environment minister, posted on Bluesky: “The oldest orca in the Strait of Gibraltar was found this week with marks consistent with shotgun pellets. It is a vulnerable species and any harm against it is a serious crime.”
In 2022, a killer whale called Gladis was thought to be teaching gangs of orcas to attack yachts around Gibraltar and sank at least three boats.
Credit: Oceanic Lounge
It may read like a tale reminiscent of Moby Dick, but the truth is stranger than fiction. Researchers believed that the female orca was seeking revenge having been traumatised by a collision with a boat or as a result of being trapped in illegal fishing nets.
Her attacks were copied by the rest of the nearby killer whale population, which learnt how to ram vessels from their ringleader.
Last year, scientists said they were studying the underwater “dialect” that killer whales use to see whether they could solve a puzzle that has long alarmed sailors navigating through the Strait of Gibraltar.
Researchers believed they play with yachts much like children with a toy, and said orcas did not ram boat rudders in an aggressive act, even if sailors were shaken up.
