Orcas Flip Great White Shark for Liver Meal – Stunning Video
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Orcas Exhibit Novel Hunting Behavior: Targeting Great White Sharks
The Emergence of a New Predatory Tactic
orcas, often called “killer whales” for a reason,are apex predators renowned for their adept pack hunting skills. They employ coordinated attacks and specialized techniques to take down a variety of prey, including large whales.
Recently, scientists captured compelling drone footage of a pod of orcas in the gulf of California systematically killing juvenile great white sharks.The orcas’ method involves flipping the sharks upside down and then feasting on their livers. This behavior was detailed in a new study published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science.
The footage was captured by Erick Higuera, the study’s lead author, a marine biologist and wildlife underwater cinematographer, and Marco Villegas. Higuera has dedicated over a decade to filming and studying orcas, but first observed this specific shark-hunting behavior in August 2020. Initially, the drone footage didn’t reveal the shark species.
“I thought, ‘Well, it might be a sand tiger shark,’ you know-one of those similar looking sharks. But I never thought that it was going to be a great white,” Higuera told Gizmodo.