Gripping scene of an orca viciously ripping out the liver of a nine-foot-long great white shark, as two other killer whales excitedly watch the once blue waters of South Africa’s Mossel Bay turn blood red before the shark sinks to a the bottom of the sea – never to be seen again.
The wild story was captured by a drone camera soaring above and now gives scientists a better understanding about why these apex-predators seem to be fleeing from this region that was once the shark capital of the world.
Orcas are known to feast on a great white shark liver, as the organ is large, fatty and has become the whale’s favorite dish – eight shark carcasses washing ashore the Western Cape in 2017 and all were missing their liver.
The footage is part of marine biologist Alison Towner’s long-term work with great whites. She shared on her Instagram page that the clip is ‘one of the most incredible pieces of natural history ever captured on film. ‘
The clip which is the first to show an orca eating a great white, is set to air on Discovery’s Shark House Thursday night at 9pm ET, which is a day before the highly anticipated Shark Week begins.
Shark Week is an annual week-long television programming block that features nothing but shark-based content.
Great whites typically aggregate in the waters around South Africa due to the large population of Cape fur seals that are the predator’s main source of food.
However, what used to be up to 900 sharks has dwindled down to no more than 522 and it is because this predator has become the prey.
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