Orca rams into yacht off Shetland in first such incident in northern waters
by Philip Hoare and Jeroen Hoekendijk from on (#6CBDJ)
Cetacean exhibits same behaviour towards vessel in North Sea that has been seen in Iberian orca population
An orca repeatedly rammed a yacht in the North Sea off Shetland on Monday, in a concerning development following previous interactions between the cetaceans and vessels in the strait of Gibraltar and Portugal.
Dr Wim Rutten, a 72-year-old retired Dutch physicist and experienced yachtsperson, was sailing solo from Lerwick to Bergen in Norway. He was fishing for mackerel, with a single line off the back of the boat, when the orca suddenly appeared in the clear water, and hit the stern of the seven-ton boat.
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