Scientists have been scratching their heads as to why great white sharks have been disappearing from the coast of South Africa. Now, newly-emerged photos and videos confirm the theory that it is because killer whales are hunting them.
“This behavior has never been witnessed in detail before, and certainly never from the air,” says marine scientist Alison Towner from Rhodes University in South Africa.
The drone pilot followed the group and witnessed the orcas split up. Two orcas close to the surface were seen looking in opposite directions as if they were keeping lookout, and then suddenly a fellow orca emerged from the deep between the two while pushing a three-meter-long white shark up to the surface.The orca rolled the shark on its side and bit into its belly behind its pectoral fin, causing blood to spill into the sea.
The helicopter pilot captured a confrontation between the great white and the orca, where new evasive tactics used by the shark were revealed.When an orca approached the great white, the shark adopted the tactics more commonly used by a hunted seal. Instead of fleeing, the shark remained close to the killer whale in the hope that it will outmaneuver it by tightly circling. However, because orcas hunt in groups this strategy could be redundant.
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