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What's With All The Orcas Sinking Yachts? The Nautical Drama Explained

What's With All The Orcas Sinking Yachts? The Nautical Drama Explained

An orca jumping out the ocean.
Tory Kallman/Shutterstock

Plus 10 memes that will have you cackling!

At a time when the wealth disparity is growing every year and class consciousness is on the rise, orcas are sticking it to the ultra-rich — and honestly, we're not mad.

2020 was rough for most, but while the rich were lining their pockets with PPP loans, orcas were sinking their ships. Between then and now, a group of orcas (colloquially called killer whales) have sunk three luxury yachts off the coasts of Portugal and Spain and damaged over 100 more.

On June 23, the group of orcas even went so far as Shetland, Scotland to bash a yacht.

The orcas seem to be exclusively trying to sink yachts and sailboats owned by wealthy people. They specifically target the rudders of the ships as an efficient way of stopping the fancy boats from being able to steer.

The slogan “Eat the Rich” is great, but “Sink the Rich” works too!

The leader of the pack of revolutionary orcas has been dubbed White Gladis, who many researchers believe began targeting yachts as revenge for being injured by one previously. She even seems to be training young orcas to follow in her footsteps. Scientist also suspect White Gladis was pregnant while this was going on, but becoming a mother didn't seem to slow down her crusade to destroy as many luxury vessels as she could.

Some researcher think that it may just be a trend spreading from one orca pod to another, but the fact that the orcas are only attacking luxury ships and leaving everyone else alone, speaks volumes.

White Gladis and her band of orcas have sparked curiosity from the scientific community, but we’re keeping an eye on the story for the collective catharsis of watching the ultra-rich lose their toys and — of course — for the amazing memes. The memes are giving us life!

Keep scrolling to see some of our favs.

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Ariel Messman-Rucker

Ariel Messman-Rucker is an Oakland-born journalist who now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. When she’s not writing about politics and queer pop culture, she can be found reading, hiking, or talking about horror movies with the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network.

Ariel Messman-Rucker is an Oakland-born journalist who now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. When she’s not writing about politics and queer pop culture, she can be found reading, hiking, or talking about horror movies with the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network.