02 March 2024 , 10:10
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Incredible footage has captured a killer whale attack and eat a great white shark in less than two minutes.
The juvenile orca is seen swimming away with the shark's liver in its mouth, off the coast of Mossel Bay in South Africa. Although orcas have been seen hunting sharks, dolphins and even whales on their own before, but this is thought to be the first time an orca has hunted the world's biggest predatory fish all by itself.
Dr Alison Towner, from Rhodes University in South Africa, who led the research into this discovery, said: "Killer whales, or orcas, usually hunt in groups, although they can hunt on their own. "What was unusual was seeing Starboard, the killer whale, hunting a white shark all by itself and doing it so quickly."
The events, which happened on June 18, 2023, are written about in the African Journal of Marine Science. The team tells how a boat was sent out just after 2pm because of sightings of Starboard and another killer whale called Port. As the boat followed the pair across the water, the researchers could smell shark liver and saw diving kelp gulls, which showed there had been a recent kill.
The attack happened quickly: at 3.02pm a young white shark appeared at the surface of the water. Starboard appeared right after it. The whale "gripped the left pectoral fin of the shark and thrust forward with the shark several times before eventually eviscerating it", the report says. Minutes later, Starboard was seen with "a bloody piece of peach-coloured liver in its mouth".
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The astonishing footage, taken off Mossel Bay in South Africa, shows the orca consume the 2.5-metre shark in just two minutes (Christiaan Stopforth, Drone Fana SWNS)The attack was also seen by people on another boat who were there to watch sharks. The scientists say that usually when orcas hunt sharks, there are two to six orcas and it takes about two hours.
But this time, Starboard managed to kill a young great white shark by itself. The shark was about 2.5 metres long and weighed around 100kg. But for bigger sharks, Starboard might need help from other orcas. Big great white sharks can be 6. 5 metres long and weigh 2.5 tonnes. Before, the scientists found out that Port and Starboard, two whales with bent fins, have been hunting together near South Africa.
Dr Primo Micarelli, who helped write the new study from the Shark Studies Centre and Siena University, saw the orca named Starboard attack. He said it was amazing to see the orca carry a great white shark's liver past his boat. He added: "Despite my awe for these predators, I'm increasingly concerned about the coastal marine ecology balance."