A killer whale is believed to have been shot by a shotgun after it was spotted off the Spanish coast with holes in its fin. 

The orca known as Toñi was spotted off Cadiz, southern Spain, with holes in its dorsal fin, which whale conservation charities have identified as gunshot wounds.

The female killer whale, also called La Abuela or 'the grandmother', is the oldest member of the endangered Iberian orca population at an estimated 60 years old. 

An investigation was launched by Spanish authorities after the sighting on Thursday, who have also sought assistance from their Portuguese counterparts. 

The shooting is believed to have taken place recently, after conservation groups WeWhale Association and Iberian Orca Guardians photographed Toñi appearing uninjured a few weeks ago. 

Scientists from the two organisations believe the number, size and distribution of the wounds are consistent with the firing of a shotgun. 

The sighting comes as a pod of orcas has terrorised boats in a spate of attacks in recent years, targeting those who sail in the Strait of Gibraltar and off Portugal's coast. 

Yachts have been left seriously damaged by the killer whales' group effort or, in some cases, sunk. 

In an Instagram post with photos of the wound, WeWhale announced the news that 'Toñi has been shot.' 

It continued: 'Our photographs show around 10 shotgun pellet impacts on the left side of her dorsal fin.

'Images taken today indicate that at least two or three projectiles may have passed through the fin, while others appear potentially to remain inside.

'We know these injuries are recent. We photographed Toñi only a few weeks ago and these wounds were not there.

'There are very few Iberian orcas left. Toñi is the oldest known member of this critically endangered population.'

'Whatever someone's opinion about orca-vessel interactions may be, shooting at these animals can never be an acceptable response!' the organisation added.

WeWhale will continue to watch Toni, but said 'for now' the killer whale's swimming and hunting hasn't affected it. 

The Iberian orca is classified as critically endangered, with only a small number of surviving members. 

Sara Aagesen, Spain's environment minister, posted on Bluesky: 'The oldest orca in the Strait of Gibraltar was found this week with marks consistent with shotgun pellets. It is a vulnerable species and any harm against it is a serious crime.'  

The incident comes after orcas sunk a yacht off Spain's north-west coast in July after ramming three boats in the same area. 

Two people on board the pleasure craft called Idem had to be rescued after their rudder was destroyed and their boat began to sink.

The attack occurred around 5pm just over a mile off Estaca de Bares, the northernmost cape of the Iberian Peninsula located in the Galician province of La Coruna.

Local mayor Alfredo Dovale said a private boat aided the sailors and tried to tow their yacht to shore before it started disappearing under the sea.

A Spanish Coastguard vessel later took the pair to the nearby town of Carino while a helicopter flew over the area where the orca attack occurred to check for signs of pollution.

The two people on board the yacht were unharmed.

The incident that led to it sinking occurred on the same day as three other sailboat interactions with the giant mammals in the same area.

The vessels' rudders were also targeted but the damage done did not prevent them reaching shore in two of the cases although in the other one the yacht was also crippled.  

Spanish coastguards said: 'A yacht has sunk 1.3 miles from Estaca de Bares as a result of taking on water after an interaction with orcas.

'Its two crew members were picked up by a nearby motorboat and are safe. Later, the rescue vessel Shaula, dispatched by CCS Finisterre, transported them to Carino.

'The Helimer 401 helicopter is flying over the area to check for any signs of pollution.'

In a second message they said: 'This is the fourth orca interaction that occurred in the area [that day].'

In June, a pod of killer whales was filmed as they surrounded and attacked a yacht, spinning it 360 degrees and destroying its rudder off the coast of Gibraltar. 

After four weeks sailing from the Bahamas to Spain onboard the vessel, a group of adventurers were swarmed by several Iberian orcas in an incident that lasted three hours.

A video filmed from the deck shows the black and white predators chasing the boat, leaping in and out of the waves at speed.

The ship's wheel can be seen spinning out of control as the toothed whales destroy the rudder, with scraps of the vertical blade seen floating on the surface of the water.

In October last year the Portuguese Air Force had to rescue a family of five including three children after they cheated death when their yacht was sunk in an orca attack.

A military helicopter was mobilised to winch the survivors off a fishing vessel that had come to their rescue after their boat was rammed by a pod of the mammals and started taking on water.

They were taken by chopper to hospital although they were not injured in the drama, which occurred late on October 10, 55 miles south-east of Peniche a 75-minute drive north of Lisbon.

Three children aged eight, ten and 12 were on board the French-flagged 36ft-long yacht, named locally as Ti'fare, with their mum and dad when it was attacked.

Their parents managed to send an SOS and get into a life raft before the vessel, said to have been left with a breached hull after being rammed, started sinking.

A Peniche-based fishing boat called Silmar responded to the alert as the military were mobilised.

In September last year a pod of orcas sunk a yacht carrying five people including a British national near Fonte da Telha beach just south of Lisbon.

Footage shows an orca repeatedly striking the Oceanview sailboat which belonged to the Nautic Squad Club and it disappearing under the water before it could be saved after the crew were rescued.

The same day the same pod of orcas attacked another nearby boat called Nova Vida.

The Norwegian sailors on board told afterwards how they were able to save the vessel by installing an emergency rudder and prying it enough to get them back to Cascais 10 nautical miles away after being rammed.