In an unprecedented moment, in less than two minutes an orca whale attacked and fed on part of a great white shark off the coast of South Africa, with cameras on boats passing by recording everything. Experts say the event, which took place off the coast of Mossel Bay, offers new insights into the predatory behavior of killer whales.
Although orcas have been documented hunting sharks, dolphins and even other whales alone, this is believed to be the first time a lone orca has hunted the world’s largest predatory fish.
“Killer whales, or orcas, often band together when hunting, although they can hunt alone. The unusual aspect was witnessing Starboard the killer whale hunting a great white shark alone and in a remarkably quick period of time,” Dr. Alison Towner of Rhodes University, who led the research into the discovery, told The Guardian.
The whale “grabbed the shark’s left pectoral fin and lunged forward several times before finally eviscerating it,” the researchers’ report says. Minutes later, Starboard was seen with “a bloody piece of peach-colored liver in her mouth.” The attack was documented by scientists observing the animals and by tourists aboard another boat who were going shark cage diving.
The researchers report that all other recorded events in the region involving orcas preying on sharks have had two to six orcas and typically lasted about two hours.
Researcher Primo Micarelli, from the University of Siena, who witnessed the attack, stated that despite his admiration for these predators, he is “increasingly concerned about the balance of coastal marine ecology”.
