Photo by Steve Halama on Unsplash

Nina: Nana, there is something awful going on.

Nana: I know, you’re talking. It’s awful. Can’t a man read the news in peace? Whatever happened to civilized society?

Nina: Nana, but this is important news.

Nana: It’s okay. I don’t need to know. Feel free to keep it to yourself.

Nina: But I can’t Nana. It’s just too sad. A pod of orcas off the coast of Spain keep attacking boats and yachts. No one knows why Nana, but observers say that the attacks seem orchestrated.

Nana: Don't you mean Orca-strated? Hyuk

Nina: Nana, it's not funny. What could have gotten into them?

Nana: Oh, I read an article about that. It had a few good reasons to offer for their strange behavior.

Nina: It did? Why suddenly? They’ve never done this before. Some people were injured. I’m worried the people will kill off the orca pod for being dangerous.

Nana: Well, it’s not like they hadn’t been making it impossible for the orcas to survive anyway. I’m guessing this pod had just about had it. They are dying of starvation, as the fishermen hoard all the bluefin tuna. They are actively attacked by some fishermen, who injure or cut off their dorsal fins. So many of their calves have died.

Nina: Oh Nana, that’s horrible. Please don’t go into the gory details. It makes me want to wail. How long has this been happening?

Nana: For decades. You know how greedy and selfish we humans can be.

Nina: Then why suddenly now? What could be the proximate cause that triggered the attacks?

Nana: According to the article I read, it’s probably the coronavirus.

Nina: What do you mean, Nana? Does the awful virus affect them too?

Nana: No, I mean that with quarantines and lockdown the poor orcas had a few months of peace. I suppose, they saw some hope for themselves, and then the boats returned recently crushing all hope. I guess it was the last straw for them. They are now openly fighting for their lives. Poor things.

Nina: Nana, what will happen to them?

Nana: No idea. We’ll have to wait and watch. Hopefully their classification as an endangered species will protect them, but I wouldn’t count on it. We humans can come up with ingenious rationalizations for our cruelty.

This post is a part of the #NinaAndNana series I co-host with Lavanya Srinivasan. Her posts can be found here.