It’s a swipe and grab that has stunned scientists: in less than two minutes, a killer whale attacked and devoured a great white shark before swimming away with the victim’s liver in its mouth.
Experts say the event on the coast of Mossel Bay South Africa offers new insights into the predatory behavior of orcas.
Whereas orcas used to be documented hunting sharksdolphins and even whales alone, the newly reported event is believed to be the first known time that a lone orca hunted the world’s largest predatory fish.
“Killer whales, or orcas, usually team up when they hunt, although they can hunt alone,” said Dr Alison Towner, from Rhodes University, who led research on the discovery. “The unusual aspect was seeing Starboard, the killer whale, hunting a great white shark alone and in remarkably quick time.”
The events, which took place on June 18, 2023, are documented in the African Journal of Marine Science. it is a sequence that wouldn’t be out of place in a Spielberg movie.
The team reports how a boat was launched shortly after 14:00 in response to sightings of Starboard and another killer whale known as Port. As the vessel crossed the water to follow the pair, the researchers describe how a smell of shark liver and the sight of diving kelp gulls indicated a recent kill.
The subsequent attack was swift: at 15:02 a young great white shark appeared on the surface of the water. Starboard appeared right after.
The whale “grabbed the left pectoral fin of the shark and pushed forward with the shark several times before finally pulling it out,” the report said. Minutes later, Starboard was seen with “a bloody piece of peach-colored liver in his mouth”.
The attack was also documented by researchers and tourists aboard another vessel engaged in shark cage diving activities.
The researchers report that all other recorded events in the region involving orcas on shark prey involved two to six orcas, and usually took about two hours.
However, while Starboard managed to single-handedly kill the juvenile great white – estimated to be around 2.5 meters long and weighing around 100kg – the team suggests it may need to work with others to tackle larger prey . Adult great white sharks can grow up to 6.5 meters and 2.5 tons.
Previous research by the team revealed how port and starboard – so named because their dorsal fins are bent in opposite directions – hunted together on the coast of South Africa in recent years.
The pair appear to have a penchant for energy-rich shark livers, although the researchers say it remains unknown how orcas open up large sharks to feed on these organs.
Their activities have raised concerns that several shark species, including great white sharks, may be displaced from coastal sites.
Dr Primo Micarelli, a co-author of the new study from the Shark Studies Center and Siena University, who witnessed the attack by Starboard, said he saw the orca pass the liver of a great white shark past the vessel he was on. , seen wearing, was unforgettable. But he added: “Despite my awe of these predators, I am increasingly concerned about the coastal marine ecological balance.”
