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- Orcas, also known as killer whales, have been captured on video footage feasting on the livers of great white sharks in two separate incidents in the Gulf of California
- The incidents, which took place in 2020 and 2022, show the orcas working in a “shark-hunting pod” to prey on young great whites
- Researchers who captured the amazing footage shared their findings in the scientific journal, Frontiers in Marine Science
Killer whales have been filmed feasting on the livers of great white sharks in the Gulf of California.
On Monday, Oct. 3, researchers who captured the moments wrote about their conclusions in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, explaining that until recently, the creatures had only been observed preying on these sharks in South Africa.
The new footage captures “shark-hunting pods” in the Gulf of California that appeared to target juvenile white sharks. The young creatures were flipped upside-down before the removal of their “energy-rich” liver to share with the rest of the pod. The researchers noted in the journal that they thought the orcas were taking advantage of a local shark nursery to hunt younger sharks who are easier to subdue.
Orcas — also known as killer whales — are known to be the only natural predators of white sharks and the footage was captured in two separate incidents in 2020 and 2022.
In the first video taken in August 2020, five female orcas were seen pushing a young great white shark to the surface of the ocean, per New Scientist.
“The orcas were ramming the great white to flip it upside down,” biologist Erick Higuera-Rivas, who captured the footage and led the study, told the outlet.
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Time-lapse drone video showing orcas attacking a juvenile white shark on 3rd of August 2022.
Marco Villegas Martínez
The technique is used to temporarily paralyze the shark, enabling the whales to extract the prey’s liver.
The orcas then shared the liver amongst themselves before repeating the attack on another young great white shark.
Researchers then captured another group of whales attacking a young great white shark in August 2022.
“I saw in the monitor that the shark had the liver hanging out on the side, already popped off. And a few minutes later, they came up with the liver in their mouth,” Higuera Rivas told NBC News. “I was surprised that it could be a great white. I was not believing it.”
The study’s lead author added to BBC Wildlife Magazine that the behavior showed the “orcas’ advanced intelligence, strategic thinking, and sophisticated social learning, as the hunting techniques are passed down through generations within their pods.”
Fisheries and Oceans Canada research scientist Heather Bowlby told the outlet that the research illustrates how even sharks that are considered top predators can be prey themselves.
“We’re so conditioned to thinking of white sharks as the top of the food chain,” she said. “It is always amazing to be reminded they are prey.”
