Orca attacks on boats are on the rise — and social media has gone wild for it. Check out the best memes here.

• In the conflict between orcas and humans, social media is on the side of the killer whales.
• Memes cheer on the orcas, who have been attacking boats and yachts off the Iberian peninsula.
• White Gladis, a female orca that other orcas may be imitating, is affectionately called a "comrade."

In the conflict between orcas and humans, social media is increasingly on the side of the killer whales.

After a recent increase in incidents of orcas targeting, ramming into, and even sinking some vessels, experts are wondering what exactly has caused this phenomenon.

While most orca interactions with boats are harmless, there has been a spike in aggressive behavior toward boats off the Iberian peninsula since 2020, a biologist recently told LiveScience.

While there have been warnings not to demonize the marine creatures, some social-media users have gone further, championing the orcas' behavior.

—Janel Comeau (@VeryBadLlama) May 20, 2023

Dubbed the "Orca Wars," the killer whales' online popularity began last month after a report on a theory that the highly-social marine mammals had learned from each other to target boats. In the past month, online searches for the terms "orca" and "killer whales" have increased significantly, according to Google Trends. 

"We are not prepared for an Orca War. We do not have the resources," one popular tweet read. Merriam-Webster dictionary joked, "We, for one, welcome our new Delphinidae Overlords."

'These militant orcas have a clear agenda!'

—devilette¹⁷ (@deviIette) May 27, 2023

Others are happy to fight on the side of the sometimes misunderstood, now-beloved killer whales. "I'm joining the war on orcas, on the side of the orcas," a popular meme reads. 

The memes and discourse began to humorously regard the orca's actions as a revolutionary, dissident movement — with some on social media wryly suggesting, for example, that the orcas look out for billionaire Jeff Bezos' enormous yacht.  

—Stone Cold Jane Austen (@AbbyHiggs) May 20, 2023

After orcas sank a yacht called "Champagne" that was sailing through the Strait of Gibraltar last month, Kady Ruth Ashcraft wrote for Jezebel, "These militant orcas have a clear agenda! Nature is speaking out against the 1%!" 

Framing the sinking of the yachts as a "grassroots organizing," community project, the animals have been cheered as anti-capitalist heroes. Many on Twitter questioned why they still had to go to work, while the orcas were out fighting a noble cause. 

One theory says orcas may be learning this aggressive behavior from one female killer whale named White Gladis, Insider previously reported.

—???? Lexi ???? (@bi_lex_ual) May 28, 2023

White Gladis may have had a "critical moment of agony," possibly colliding with a boat or being trapped during illegal fishing activities, which traumatized her and caused her to start ramming other boats.

"Nothing heals community trauma like direct action," theorist and author Sophie Lewis, wrote about this news. 

—Emma Devlin ???? (@theactualemma) May 27, 2023

Many others referred to White Gladis affectionately as a "comrade," offering their unconditional "solidarity with orca saboteurs." 

As Insider previously reported, socialist or left-wing memes have become an effective tool for young people and are a particularly popular medium for critiquing life under capitalism.