” The impressive predation, off the coast of Mossel Bay, South Africa, represents unmatched behavior highlighting the remarkable proficiency of the killer whale,” says Dr. Alison Towner from Rhodes University, who led a global research group into the discovery.Their findings were recently released in the peer-reviewed African Journal of Marine Science.The groundbreaking insight is the latest from Dr. Towner and the team, who, in 2022 in the exact same journal, exposed that a pair of whales were hunting and killing fantastic white sharks off the coast of South Africa because 2017– managing to drive large numbers of the sharks from their natural aggregation sites.Orcas are usually known to work together to capture large victim like sea lions, seals, and even other whales– and of course, sharks too.” Starboard was observed preying on a 2.5-meter (8.2 feet) juvenile white shark, later on bring the sharks liver in its mouth past a boat. Credit: Christiaan Stopforth, Drone Fanatics SAImplications for Shark Populations and Marine Ecosystems” The study raises critical concerns about the effect of killer whale predation on shark populations in South Africa,” Dr. Towner says.” Co-author Dr. Primo Micarelli, from the Shark Studies Centre and Siena University, was on board the vessel White Shark Africa and commented: “Over two decades of yearly sees to South Africa, Ive observed the extensive impact these killer whales have on the regional white shark population.” Reference: “Further insights into killer whales Orcinus whale preying on white sharks Carcharodon carcharias in South Africa” by A Towner, P Micarelli, D Hurwitz, MJ Smale, AJ Booth, C Stopforth, E Jacobs, FR Reinero, V Ricci, A Di Bari, S Gavazzi, G Carugno, M Mahrer and E Gennari, 1 March 2024, African Journal of Marine Science.DOI: 10.2989/ 1814232X.2024.2311272.
” The impressive predation, off the coast of Mossel Bay, South Africa, represents unprecedented behavior highlighting the remarkable efficiency of the killer whale,” says Dr. Alison Towner from Rhodes University, who led an international research study group into the discovery.Their findings were just recently published in the peer-reviewed African Journal of Marine Science.The groundbreaking insight is the latest from Dr. Towner and the team, who, in 2022 in the same journal, exposed that a set of whales were hunting and eliminating fantastic white sharks off the coast of South Africa because 2017– managing to drive large numbers of the sharks from their natural aggregation sites.Orcas are generally known to work together to capture big victim like sea lions, seals, and even other whales– and of course, sharks too. Credit: Christiaan Stopforth, Drone Fanatics SAImplications for Shark Populations and Marine Ecosystems” The research study raises important questions about the effect of killer whale predation on shark populations in South Africa,” Dr. Towner states.” Co-author Dr. Primo Micarelli, from the Shark Studies Centre and Siena University, was on board the vessel White Shark Africa and commented: “Over 2 years of yearly visits to South Africa, Ive observed the profound impact these killer whales have on the local white shark population.
