The Real Moby Dick

Do Whales Really Attack Humans?

The revenge of a whale or an accidental tragedy? Do whales really attack humans intentionally? Sperm whales are relatively placid mammals and very few incidents in modern times suggest otherwise. They mainly feed on squid and rarely attack, apparently only when mistaking other mammals for seals or prey.

In his 1839 book about the natural history of sperm whales, Thomas Beale, a surgeon aboard a whaleship, described them as 'a most timid and inoffensive animal readily endeavoring to escape from the slightest thing which bears an unusual appearance.' But Dr Richard Bevan, a zoologist and lecturer at Newcastle University, suggests that a sperm whale may remember if it was previously attacked.