The Orca Encounters

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Hannah Strega describes what it's like to come face to face with one of these creatures. They are incredibly interesting, I think, because they are doing things. We realize that they are just like us in many ways. And part of their attraction is that they're not so far, despite the way they live.

Since 2020, orcas off the coast of Spain and Portugal have been ramming boats, biting rudders and, in a few cases, sinking entire vessels. Now it has been reported that a similar encounter has happened off Shetland. Madeleine Finlay speaks to marine biologist and orca expert Hanne Strager about what might be behind these incidents and where our fascination with orcas comes from This podcast was amended on 27 June 2023. An earlier version contained audio of the calls of a humpback whale, not an orca. This audio has now been removed.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod