Two orcas -- Port and Starboard -- have been reported to attack great white sharks for their liver. It was assumed that they worked together, but experts recently learned one could take down a great white alone.
Orca Attacks Great White Shark Alone
Port and Starboard became notorious for attacking great whites. The pair recorded several gruesome attacks where they ripped the great whites' bodies apart to get their liver.
It was assumed that the pair had always worked together. However, in contrast to previous reports, new footage captured Starboard taking down an 8.2-foot juvenile white shark alone in just two minutes. It was later caught on camera carrying the shark's liver in its mouth as it passed a boat.
Alison Towner, a shark researcher at Rhodes University who led the research team in this study, has been looking for more insights into this bizarre behavior. She described the encounter as "astonishing."
Orcas are sociable, highly intelligent animals that typically hunt in packs utilizing intricate strategies. They usually hunt in packs and go after large creatures like sea lions, seals, and even different kinds of whales.
Although it's usually a team effort, killer whales are known to pursue giant predators, including sharks, according to Towner. She added that they were unprepared for how rapid and cunning Starboard's plan was.
Since the white shark, in this instance, was younger than 2.5 meters, it was reportedly probably easier for Starboard to hunt it solo. The sighting disproved the region's well-known cooperative hunting practices by revealing evidence of at least one killer whale hunting alone.
These are novel insights into this species' predatory behavior, and the study greatly advances our knowledge of marine ecosystems and predator-prey dynamics while also improving our understanding of killer whale predation dynamics globally, per Towner.
Killer Whales To Blame for Great White Sharks' Mysterious Disappearance?
For years, great white sharks with missing livers have been found dead along the coasts of Gansbaai and False Bay in South Africa. The great whites' liver, abundant in calories and oil, is said to have been the orcas' focus for the attacks. The shark's liver allowed the killer whales to continue their expensive, high-calorie diet.
However, suddenly, great whites stopped swimming around those shores, some of their most well-known habitats in South Africa. The large white sharks reportedly vanished.
According to Michelle Jewell, an ecologist at the Michigan State University Museum, several theories were put forth because the extinction of white sharks was so sudden, unprecedented, and severe. Many were worried that the overfishing of sharks and the food they consumed might have resulted in the mass disappearance of the great whites.
However, experts learned that the sharks did not vanish. Instead, they sought refuge and moved to a safer neighborhood. Shark populations in South Africa have migrated eastward to places like KwaZulu-Natal's coast and Algoa Bay.
Eight great white sharks, seven of which had their livers severed, had washed up on a beach in the Western Cape close to Gansbaai, according to research released in 2022. Two orcas named Port and Starboard killed 17 sharks in a single day in February.
RELATED ARTICLE : Ghost, Horn Shark With Stripes, and Spiny Fins Adds to the List of Newly Discovered Shark Species [LOOK]
Check out more news and information on Sharks in Science Times.
