WARNING: Graphic footage contained in the video
A shocking scene from Shark Week 2022 shows that even great predators can become prey.
A recent article in theAfrican Journal of Marine Sciencefound that aggressive killer whales in the area are likely responsible for the absence of great white sharks. Researchers for the article, published on June 29, found that atleast two orcas were hunting the large sharks near South Africa. The researchers also discovered evidence that orcas had hunted and killed at least eight great white sharks — often removing the sharks' livers — in the area since 2017, which had caused other sharks to flee South African waters.
Researchers partially based these findings on the examinations of great white carcasses — discovered with orca bite marks and missing livers — that washed up on South Africa’s beaches.Shark Housecontains even clearer evidence. The special includes first-of-its-kind drone footage of three killer whales attacking a great white shark near the shores of South Africa.
In the clip, three orcas surround a great white shark, with two whales framing the shark and the other biting the shark from below. The center killer whale brings the great white closer to the surface, biting the dead shark near the liver.
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“This is the world’s first drone footage of killer whales predating on a white shark. It’s the first time in South Africa it’s ever been documented as direct evidence,” marine biologist Allison Towner, the lead author of theAfrican Journal of Marine Sciencearticle on orcas hunting sharks,told Daily Beast about the moment feature inSharkHouse.
The special also follows Chivell as he works on an underwater habitat called “Shark House” so he can spend seven days on the sea floor near South Africa, closely observing the area’s remaining great white sharks.
To learn more about the great white sharks of South Africa and how killer whales are affecting the population, streamShark Housenow on Discovery+.
source: people.com
