Orcas Repeatedly Attack Young Great White Sharks, Drone Footage Reveals

Very first footage shows killer whales attacking great white shark nursery

By Ashley Balzer Vigil edited by Andrea Thompson

Orcas, or “killer whales,” are not known for their friendly demeanor. The famous bullies attack boats and harass other animals for reasons that are sometimes not entirely clear. Now, for the first time, they have been spotted repeatedly targeting juvenile great white sharks in a shark nursery, according to a new paper published in Frontiers of Marine Science.

Researchers observed two drone hunts while monitoring orcas in the Gulf of California. Newly released footage from August 2020 shows the first clash, in which five orcas teamed up to do a big flip with the white sharks. After pushing a shark to the surface, the orcas rolled it onto its back.

At that point, the battle was already won. Flipping a shark induces a paralyzing state called tonic immobility, similar to a case of twisties for a gymnast; this disrupts the shark’s spatial awareness and disrupts the connection between the animal’s mind and body.

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The orcas then repeated the process with another young great white shark. In both cases, they went to great lengths primarily for each shark’s liver, as this organ is loaded with nutrients and energy.

Two years later, in August 2022, researchers observed a repeat: five orcas turned over a young great white shark and ate its liver.

The sightings were detailed enough for researchers to identify and track individual orcas by their dorsal fin, confirming that the same group, known as the Moctezuma Group after its best-known member, was behind both attacks.

“This behavior speaks to the advanced intelligence, strategic thinking and sophisticated social learning of orcas, as hunting techniques are passed down from generation to generation within their groups,” said marine biologist Erick Higuera Rivas, who led the new paper, in a recent press release.

While scientists had previously seen orcas attack great whites, killer whales primarily targeted adults, both for a larger meal and to rid themselves of competition for the same prey. The newly reported sightings represent the first direct evidence of orca hunting. young the great whites in particular. Researchers say this strange behavior could be linked to warming waters induced by climate change, which appears to be pushing shark nurseries toward orca hunting grounds.

Because baby sharks are alone from day one, their nurseries are more like orphanages: there are no adults to look after the young as they grow. This usually works well because the animals have very few predators. But now that they have entered dangerous waters, they may be forced to relocate again.

“Nursery areas are where young sharks spend time growing and learning how to feed, so moving them from these habitats can be disruptive,” says Alison Towner, a marine biologist at Rhodes University in South Africa who specializes in shark predation by orcas but was not involved in the new study. “If the pressure is one-off, the impact may be limited. But if it is repeated, it could force juveniles towards less suitable or more risky areas” and ultimately disrupt the entire ecosystem.

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