{"id":378034,"date":"2026-04-06T15:12:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T15:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/378034\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T15:12:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T15:12:08","slug":"once-the-oceans-supreme-predator-great-white-sharks-are-now-being-hunted-by-a-smarter-killer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/378034\/","title":{"rendered":"Once the Ocean’s Supreme Predator, Great White Sharks Are Now Being Hunted by a Smarter Killer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scientists have now documented killer whales hunting great white sharks across three separate oceans, using surgical precision to extract the sharks\u2019 livers while leaving the rest of the carcass largely intact.<\/p>\n

Between August 2020 and October 2023, researchers confirmed repeated orca attacks on great white sharks in South Africa, Australia, and Mexico\u2019s Gulf of California, according to a 2025 study published in Frontiers in Marine Science<\/a>. In each location, the whales targeted the sharks\u2019 energy-dense livers, often passing the organ between pod members including calves, while other scavengers circled for scraps.<\/p>\n

A 50-Centimeter Wound and DNA Match in Australia<\/p>\n

The most recent evidence came from Portland, Victoria, in October 2023. A 4.7-meter great white shark washed ashore missing its liver, digestive organs, and reproductive system. Forensic analysis revealed a 50-centimeter wound near the shark\u2019s pectoral fin containing DNA that matched local orcas. This marked the first confirmed orca attack on a great white in Australian waters.<\/p>\n

Days earlier, witnesses had seen a pod hunting in the same area, including two named individuals: Bent Tip and Ripple, known for their coordinated strategies. Researchers noted the wound pattern matched attacks seen elsewhere. The orcas <\/a>had targeted the area near the shark\u2019s front fins, the same spot where South African orcas had struck their prey.<\/p>\n

\"FootageFootage released in June that captured the first instance of an orca whale feasting on a Great White Shark. Credit: Discovery<\/p>\n

This consistency across continents suggests the hunting technique is learned and shared, not random. The Australian attack followed the same surgical pattern observed in other oceans, strengthening the case that orcas are systematically targeting great whites as prey.<\/p>\n

Eight Carcasses and a Serengeti Style Flight in South Africa<\/p>\n

South Africa provided the earliest and most extensive evidence of this predator-prey reversal. Since 2017, eight great white sharks have washed ashore following orca attacks<\/a>. Seven had their livers removed with distinctive wounds matching the same pair of killer whales, according to a 2022 study in the African Journal of Marine Science<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The impact on living sharks has been even more dramatic. Tagged sharks fled immediately when orcas appeared. Some absences lasted weeks or months, with sharks abandoning territory they had dominated for years. A news summary from NISC<\/a> quoted lead researcher Alison Towner: \u201cWhat we seem to be witnessing is a large-scale avoidance strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Image\"Photographs showing the injuries to four of the five Carcharodon that washed up in South Africa, which included a large clean tear across the pectoral girdle and removal of the liver. Credit: African Journal of Marine Science<\/p>\n

Towner compared the behavior to wild dogs in the Serengeti fleeing lions. The researchers considered other explanations, including changes in water temperature or food supply, but concluded those factors could not explain the sudden disappearance that began in 2017. The sharks simply left and have not fully returned.<\/p>\n

Meet the Moctezuma Pod in the Gulf of California<\/p>\n

The most detailed observations come from Mexico\u2019s Gulf of California, where a specific orca pod has been documented hunting juvenile great whites repeatedly. On August 15, 2020, researchers observed five female killer whales attacking a juvenile white shark roughly 2 meters long, about the size of a small car. The pod consisted of four younger females and one adult female.<\/p>\n

Video footage shows the orcas flipping the shark upside down. This technique, known as tonic immobility, temporarily paralyzes the shark and prevents it from biting back. Once the shark stops moving, the whales target the area near its front fins to extract the liver.<\/p>\n

The video then shows cooperative sharing. One female held the two-lobed liver in her mouth, then released it to another female, who passed it to a third. The organ moved between four different whales while a California sea lion tried to steal pieces. The orcas simply exhaled bubbles to discourage the sea lion, then continued feeding.<\/p>\n

The Same Whales, Returning Year After Year<\/p>\n

On August 3, 2022, the same location in the Gulf of California yielded a second attack. This time the pod included an adult male, an adult female, two younger whales, and one calf. Video shows the adult female surfacing to breathe with the shark visible in her mouth, its liver already exposed.<\/p>\n

Researchers identified the individual whales by studying the unique nicks and scars on their dorsal fins. They discovered that the same females had been seen hunting rays in 2018 and bull sharks in 2022. The scientists named the group the \u201cMoctezuma pod\u201d after the adult male.<\/p>\n

\"A,great,white,shark,very,close\"A great white shark cruising near the surface, a species now abandoning prime hunting grounds when orcas move in. Credit: Shutterstock<\/p>\n

The Frontiers in Marine Science paper, led by author Jes\u00fas Erick Higuera Rivas, stated that \u201cthis clearly indicates that these killer whales are related to each other or belong to the same group.\u201d The paper represents the first record of killer whales targeting juvenile white sharks in Mexican waters and only the second such record worldwide. The pod returned to nearly the same spot two years apart, suggesting the behavior is seasonal and learned.<\/p>\n

Why Young Sharks Are in Trouble<\/p>\n

Shark livers are enormous, making up as much as one-quarter of the animal\u2019s body weight. They are packed with high-energy oil called squalene, which provides a huge calorie payoff. For an orca, a single great white liver offers an efficient meal with little wasted effort.<\/p>\n

Adult great whites recognize orca hunting grounds and avoid them. Scientists call this a \u201cfear-induced mass exodus.\u201d When orcas enter an area, adult sharks leave, sometimes for months. But young sharks may not have learned this lesson yet. They gather in nursery zones where orcas may be waiting.<\/p>\n

Female great whites return to the same nursery areas to give birth, year after year. That means mother sharks may be unknowingly delivering their pups into places where orcas hunt. Juvenile sharks, which gather in these zones, could become regular seasonal targets. Specific hot spots include Gansbaai and Mossel Bay in South Africa, and the waters near Cabo Pulmo National Park in Mexico.<\/p>\n

What This Means for Great White Populations<\/p>\n

Great white sharks already face serious pressures from fishing nets, accidental capture, and slow reproduction. Females take more than a year to produce pups, and populations recover very slowly. The addition of a new, intelligent predator could shift the balance further.<\/p>\n

The Frontiers study concluded that orca predation \u201cmight represent a significant additional pressure on white shark populations.\u201d This is especially true as warming oceans push young sharks into new territories where killer whales already hunt. Scientists are now watching to see whether the sharks will adapt or simply continue to flee.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scientists have now documented killer whales hunting great white sharks across three separate oceans, using surgical precision to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":378035,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[85,46,141,386],"class_list":{"0":"post-378034","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}