• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
World's first aerial footage of killer whales hunting and killing great white sharks is nature at its scariest

Home> News> World News

Published 17:10 22 Jan 2024 GMT

World's first aerial footage of killer whales hunting and killing great white sharks is nature at its scariest

The footage was caught in South Africa and offered some new insights to how whales hunt

Emily Brown

Emily Brown

The world's first aerial footage of killer whales hunting and killing great white sharks offers up a chilling insight to the brutal reality of nature.

If David Attenborough's documentaries have taught us anything, it's that nature is cruel.

It's heartbreaking to see smaller animals fall victim to prey, but you generally wouldn't consider a great white shark to be the animal you're feeling sorry for - especially not at the hand - or fin - of an Orca.

I mean, we've all seen how sad Orcas look cooped up at aqua parks, haven't we?

Out in the wild, though, the creatures have to hunt for their food like any other predator, and the footage caught in South Africa reveals what it looks like when great whites end up in the firing line.

Advert

A team of scientists used a helicopter and a drone to capture the first ever aerial footage of orcas hunting and killing great white sharks in May 2022, when a pod of orcas embarked on an hour-long killing spree.

The footage was submitted as part of a paper published in The Ecological Society of America's journal Ecology, offering insight into the clashes between the two major marine predators.

The unnerving footage shows the reality of the hunt. Credit:Sea Search Research and Conservation
The unnerving footage shows the reality of the hunt. Credit:Sea Search Research and Conservation

Alison Towner, a senior shark scientist at Marine Dynamics Academy in Gansbaai, South Africa, and lead author on the study, explained that while marine biologists have long known that killer whales can attack great whites, it had never before been caught on camera.

Advert

"This behaviour has never been witnessed in detail before, and certainly never from the air," said Towner said.

Only two killer whales in South Africa had been previously linked to hunting great whites, and only one of those was observed in the footage, along with four other killer whales.

On two occasions during the filming, orcas approached sharks closely and slowly, but rather than fleeing, the shark stayed close to the orca and kept it in view – a common strategy that seals and turtles use to evade sharks.

However, researchers believe it might not be effective for sharks to use the method in this situation as orcas hunt in groups.

Advert

Footage showed the shark being circled by three killer whales.
Discovery+

The study confirmed that one infamous killer whale - locally known as Starboard - was part of the pod and ate what was suspected to be a large piece of shark liver at the ocean surface.

The footage also revealed how another killer whale bit into a white shark at the region of the liver.

David Hurwitz, a boat-based whale-watching operator from Simon's Town Boat Company, had previously witnessed Starboard and another whale kill a copper shark, but said: "This new observation is really something else."

Advert

The new study also analysed drone and cage dive boat survey data before and after these predation events, and found that, while multiple sharks were seen on the day of the predations, only a single white shark was seen in the 45 days afterwards, confirming a flight response by sharks.

Featured Image Credit: Sea Search Research and Conservation

Topics: Science, Animals

Emily Brown
Emily Brown

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

8 hours ago
  • 8 hours ago

    Chipotle customer finds receipt from 10 years ago and the comparison is making people want to cry

    Chipotle customers are understandably upset

    News
  • 8 hours ago

    100-year-old identical twins reveal secret to long life after celebrating milestone

    Bernice Frank and Gloria Lipman shared their wisdom for reaching 100-years-old

    News
  • 8 hours ago

    Forensic psychiatrist gives chilling theory behind Bryan Kohberger’s motive after he confessed to Idaho murders

    Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to murder earlier this week

    News
  • 8 hours ago

    Body found in search for man who vanished on vacation as police release chilling details

    Brian Tarrence was with his wife in Turks and Caicos before being reported missing days later

    News
  • Pod Of Orca Whales Seen Attacking And Killing Great White Shark
  • World's first 4k stream from space is now live and already captured a solar eclipse and devastating hurricane during its journey around Earth
  • Orcas stalk and kill great white sharks in drone footage never seen before
  • Great White Shark being tracked by GPS draws shape of Great White Shark