A great white shark was spotted with a huge scar across its body. According to a report, the white shark was injured following an epic battle against two serial killer orcas.
Great White Shark Scarred After Killer Whales Attack
Photos of the scarred female great white were published on March 14 in the Marine Biological Journal. During a shark-diving expedition, the images were reportedly taken near Seal Island off False Bay, South Africa, in 2017.
Study author Alessandro De Maddalena, a former adjunct professor of marine vertebrate zoology at the University of Milano-Bicocca in Italy, told Live Science in an email that he believes that the serial killer brothers - Port and Starboard - were behind the 2017 attack.
However, despite the recent spate of killings, De Maddalena believes that orcas can't easily tear open great white sharks. According to reports, the duo was also behind the numerous deaths of sharks with missing livers.
De Maddalena said there are only two instances of orca predation on great white sharks outside of South Africa that have been documented. That clearly shows that great whites are not typically prey for orcas.
According to Di Maddalena's paper, the great white in the photographs had a huge physique with a wide trunk. When he looked closely at the photo, he realized some scars appeared like tooth rake marks from an orca.
He suggested that the two killer whales might have attempted to grab the shark from above but needed heavy force to subdue the latter.
He suggested that the orcas were still probably honing their attack method, which may have contributed to their failure. Or it might just be that, like any predator, they occasionally falter.
Due to ancient molecular adaptations, great white sharks have amazing wound-healing abilities. Di Maddalena told Live Science that although it is impossible to know for sure, it is likely that the great white shark's wounds may have been caused just days or weeks earlier.
More About the Two Serial Killer Orcas
The killer whales - Port and Starboard - have been on a killing spree. They had already slaughtered 19 sharks.
According to Alison Towner, a marine biologist at Rhodes University who has been leading the research into the orca attacks, the duo has killed the highest number of sharks in the area in one sitting. The sharks that were counted were only those that washed out, and it was possible that more didn't wash out.
In a previous report from Science Times, Port and Starboard massacred the sharks, and each of them was found with a missing liver. The pair feasted on sharks' liver because it is abundant with the squalene compound, a precursor for producing hormones.
Sharks' livers are also rich with vitamins and oils, sustaining their high caloric food requirement to maintain their energetically expensive lifestyle.
False Bay was once a great white shark hotspot, but things began to change in 2017. Following the orca attacks, great white sightings decreased. In 2019, the sharks abandoned this good location for hunting seals entirely. While a number of circumstances contributed to their disappearance, scientists think that one of the leading causes was the presence of serial killer whales.
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