Orca sightings coincide with tuna migrations northward

July 11, 2026Southwest Iberian Mediterranean sclerophyllous and mixed forests

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Orcas have appeared twice off this coast in as many years, each time in July when Atlantic bluefin tuna move north through these waters. The sightings mark an expansion of the Iberian orca subpopulation — a critically small group of fewer than fifty individuals — which has been pushing its range northward from the Strait of Gibraltar since 2020. These encounters are significant: they document a population under pressure seeking new feeding grounds, tracking prey that has sustained it for generations.

The tidal range here exceeds six meters, driving productive, dynamic water masses that draw both hunter and hunted. Whether this northward shift represents a permanent range expansion or a seasonal response to changing prey availability remains to be seen, but the pattern is worth monitoring closely.

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