There's a new apex predator in town that's threatening great white sharks' recently dwindling numbers. (via PopSci)
Great white sharks are the epitome of an apex predator. In the ocean, these toothy creatures easily hold one of the top spots on the food chain . But recent drone and helicopter footage of an aquatic attack reveals that another marine mammal seems to have an upper hand.
For the first time, biologists filmed direct evidence of killer whales attacking and killing white sharks in South Africa. The first video was captured by drone in May 2022 in the Mossel Bay region, revealing three orcas cornering and fatally biting a three meter-length white shark. The shark’s body was not seen or recovered after the bloody battle.
, lead study author and senior shark scientist at Marine Dynamic Academy in Gansbaai, South Africa, toldin an email. “We had been analyzing evidence on these interactions since 2017 and had often been challenged on whether this really was occurring in South Africa. I guess the footage put those questions to bed as it is irrefutable evidence that orcas are hunting white sharks here.”Orcas are like “wolves of the ocean,” says Towner—they commonly capture prey in organized pods.
“I was in awe of how the orcas strategize and hunt but one cannot help but feel for the sharks, too,” Towner says. “It’s quite haunting seeing white sharks being circled and killed by larger predators.” Particularly, the orcas seem to have a taste for liver. The video shows them chomping on the sharks’ abdomen and tearing out their liver, which could be seen floating to the surface where the killer whale gobbles it up. White sharks’ livers are oily and nutrient-rich, making an ideal meal, Towner explains. The footage gives an explanation for previous shark carcasses washed ashore that were missing livers, the team wrote in the study.
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