Influenced by a certain Steven Spielberg film (no, not Jurassic Park), we tend to think that sharks are the kings of the oceans. It's true that great white sharks are formidable predators, and that many marine animals fear them, but they are not at the top of the food chain: killer whales are superior to them in size and intelligence.
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Sharks form a large family, including whale sharks. Nicknamed as 'gentle giants', these gigantic fish feed on small prey, plankton and algae, and have no real means of defending themselves against the fearsome killer whales, also knowns as orcas.
Killer whales are thought to have immobilised the whale shark
The scene takes place off the coast of Baja California (north-western Mexico) and was filmed by Ocean Safari, a company specialising in sea expeditions. To end the suspense straight away, this video does not end well for the poor whale shark.
As Iflscience points out, killer whales are specialists in the art of hunting sharks:
In the case of great whites, orcas have been observed capitalizing on “tonic immobility” in which flipping a shark sends it into a catatonic state. Orcas have been observed ramming into sharks to disorientate them before swimming around with them trapped upside-down in their jaws. Once the shark is catatonic, the orcas can safely get to work slicing into its belly.In a matter of seconds, the orcas were able to finish off the shark and eat a very precise part of its anatomy.
Read more:Netflix: A violent shark attack disrupts the filming of a wildlife documentary
They fed on his liver
Rather than eating the whale shark in its entirety, the orcas have concentrated on its liver. This is no coincidence. If we consider that orcas have a culture, then shark liver is a refined dish for these animals:
Knowledge of the nutritional value of livers may have spread among groups of orcas by cultural transmission, in the same way that these marine mammals perfected the art of attacking yachts and destroying their rudders, apparently in retaliation for collisions with ships.
While we shed a tear for the poor whale shark, victim of its predators, we can't help but be amazed at the behaviour and virtuosity of killer whales.
Read more:This shark attacked an 8-year-old boy to steal a fish (VIDEO)
This article has been translated from Gentside FR.
Sources used:
Youtube
Iflscience: World's Largest Shark Has Its Liver Sucked Out By Orcas In Gruesome Video
