Orcas are eating the livers of great white sharks. But how are killer whales able to extract the liver with surgical precision? How do we know some killer whales only eat shark livers? A marine biologist explains.
00:00 - KPassionate
00:49 - What Do Orcas Eat?
01:56 - Orcas Eat Shark Livers
03:34 - Port and Starboard Killer Whales
04:55 - Killer Whale VS Great White Shark
06:45 - Are Sharks Scared of Orcas?
07:43 - Why Do Orcas Eat Shark Liver?
Learn more!
The Real Size of the Largest Great White Sharks → https://youtu.be/bYyiVlroMu4
Why Orcas Are Called Killer Whales → https://youtu.be/FIwjehSYKJg
New Species of Orca → https://youtu.be/TnJVE2oNJH0
Why Orcas Are Sinking Ships → https://youtu.be/C0cGdd9lUgY
Orcas Caught in Bycatch → https://youtu.be/Xdu-6JavJcg
Offshore orcas live out in the deep waters of the North Pacific where studying them is challenging. Necropsies on killer whale carcasses provided the first clues that these orcas preyed on sharks. This was confirmed when a group of researchers encountered a pod of offshore killer whales near the islands of Haida Gwaii. Chunks of tissue began rising to the surface along with a sheen of oil. Researchers collected as many samples as they could and found the tissue and oil came from shark livers.
On the other side of the world, a pod of killer whales showed up in False Bay, South Africa. Up until 2015, False Bay was known for its large population of great white sharks who were world famous for attacking fur seals with enough force and explosive energy to throw their entire bodies out of the water. Until the killer whales showed up. Specifically, the killer whale brothers Port and Starboard. Shortly after these Port and Starboard killer whales appeared, great white sharks began washing ashore with their livers seemingly surgically removed.
Cited Sources
[1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/killers-offshore-orca-population-1.5214284
[2] https://www.int-res.com/articles/ab2010/11/b011p213.pdf
[3] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2989/1814232X.2024.2311272
[4] https://www.science.org/content/article/great-white-sharks-have-suddenly-disappeared-one-their-favorite-hangouts
[5] https://www.foxnews.com/science/shock-as-eviscerated-great-white-shark-washes-up-with-liver-surgically-removed-by-killer-whales
[6] https://phys.org/news/2024-03-orcas-longer-great-white-shark.html
[7] https://web.uri.edu/wetherbee/biochemical-and-physiological-adaptations-to-depth-in-deep-sea-sharks/#
[8] https://www.the-sun.com/lifestyle/tech-old/261029/killer-whales-learn-to-kill-great-white-sharks-by-squeezing-them-like-tubes-of-toothpaste-to-extract-livers/
[9] https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/media-release/scientists-conduct-full-necropsy-quest-determine-what-killed-offshore-killer-whale
[10] https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4117/5/2/51
[11] https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Maps-of-tagged-Offshore-killer-whale-tracks-with-each-Offshore-killer-whale-assigned-a_fig1_360839511
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