Orcas Filmed Hunting Great White Sharks and Eating Only Their Livers

Orcas filmed hunting large achromatic sharks. Credit: Robert Pittman / Public domain

Researchers successful Mexico person captured uncommon video grounds of orcas hunting large achromatic sharks and removing lone their livers with singular precision. The footage, recorded successful the Gulf of California during 2 abstracted events successful 2020 and 2022, shows the whales flipping young sharks upside down, stunning them, and slicing into their bodies to extract the fatty organ.

The study, published Monday successful Frontiers successful Marine Science, offers immoderate of the clearest impervious yet that killer whales tin overpower large achromatic sharks, agelong considered the ocean’s apical predator. The remainder of the shark’s assemblage is near to descend untouched.

Why the liver is the target

Scientists accidental the liver is the lone portion that whales privation due to the fact that it is affluent successful abdominous and vigor and tin marque up astir one-quarter of a shark’s full assemblage mass. The organ serves arsenic a substance reserve, which whitethorn explicate wherefore the orcas disregard everything else.

In 1 of the videos, each members of the pod instrumentality turns feeding connected the shark’s pinkish liver portion a oversea lion lingers nearby. The orcas stroke bubbles toward the animal, a determination that appears to support it from stealing leftovers.

Filmmaker stunned by what helium recorded

Marine biologist and filmmaker Erick Higuera filmed the hunts from a adjacent boat. He said helium did not recognize the afloat value of the footage until helium reviewed it later. The shark’s liver was already hanging from its broadside successful the video.

Minutes later, the orcas surfaced carrying the organ successful their mouths. Higuera, who aboriginal became a coauthor of the study, said helium was shocked to larn the prey was a large achromatic shark.

The Moctezuma pod and its specialized hunting style

The whales beryllium to a radical known arsenic the “Moctezuma pod,” which has been tracked disconnected Baja California for much than a decade. Higuera said the pod appears to hunt lone sharks and rays and changes its method depending connected the taxon targeted.

A 60-year-old grandma slayer whale named Sophia battling successful what scientists judge is the archetypal clip a azygous orca was captured connected camera sidesplitting a large achromatic shark.

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Until now, the lone confirmed cases of orcas hunting large whites came from South Africa. There, 2 big antheral orcas — nicknamed Port and Starboard — person been sidesplitting big sharks and removing their livers for years. In Mexico, however, the orcas are targeting younger sharks, suggesting the behaviour developed independently.

Marine biologist Alison Towner of Rhodes University said the antithetic handling methods amusement that each orca radical apt learned the maneuver connected its own.

How orcas immobilize sharks

Francesca Pancaldi, a coauthor of the study, said the whales summation power by flipping the shark upside down, forcing it into tonic immobility — a frozen, catatonic authorities that leaves the shark incapable to combat back.

Researchers judge the behaviour is not new. What is caller is the quality to papers it. Drone cameras present let scientists to movie open-ocean hunts that were erstwhile intolerable to observe. Pancaldi said warming linked to climate patterns specified arsenic El Niño whitethorn beryllium bringing much large whites into orca territory successful the Gulf of California.

Shark diminution could reshape the ecosystem

In South Africa, the aforesaid hunting signifier caused large whites to wantonness cardinal feeding grounds. Cape fur seal and sevengill shark numbers rose, which led to a driblet successful the smaller food they eat. Towner warned that Mexico could look a akin ecological displacement if the behaviour spreads oregon becomes much frequent.