this is a large scale (i believe) interspecies interaction that i think is unprecedented at least in the history books of the west. i dont want to speculate on the orcas motivations, because i am not an orca and i do not have any contact with orcas and i do not understand nor live with wild orcas. but this is important: a part of what we deem 'nature' thats more similar to us than most is reaching out to us, in some way. making it hard to deny the fakeness of that line between nature and human. i think this could have implications for the adoption of social ecology.
anyway, below the cut, some uncited and amateur speculation:
i believe they attack boats that are emitting a lot of sound. sound pollution in the sea is known to put other whales under a lot of stress; it makes it harder for them to communicate and to locate their food.
i also think this is probably not the only reason, but it is in my very underinformed opinion a likely one.
