The vicious killing machine of the deep oceans is the great white shark. Rarely does one come across a species in nature whose entire body has evolved over millions of years with the sole intent of hunting. The great white has a remarkable submarine-like physique that enables it to swim huge distances with efficiency and a nose that can detect a drop of blood in litres of seawater. And lastly, it has its dreaded jaws, which have been immortalised in numerous films because they were depicted to chase and relish eating humans in an unfair manner.
But it has been discovered that the fearsome underwater lurker may flee another predator quite rapidly. Can a great white, an apex predator, be terrified of anything? It would seem so.
The Great White Shark Capital of the World is Dyer Island in South Africa. Eight Great White Shark caracasses have come ashore since 2017, according to researchers. Great white shark populations have decreased, and they appear to be avoiding these waters.
At first, it was believed that human activities such as overfishing were driving the sharks away. But the Dyer Island Conservation Trust’s study team, under the direction of marine biologist Alison Towner, discovered something unexpected.
These shark carcasses have recognisable wounds. Almost all of them also lacked a heart or liver.
The researchers pinpointed what was frightening Great White Sharks using monitoring data and information from local fishermen.
It was a pair of Orca or Killer Whales. This pair was hunting the apex predator of the ocean and muching on the nutritious livers of their captured prey. The duo was so effcient in their hunting that remaining great whites scarpered away, not to be seen for months an end.
The team’s findings have been published in African Journal of Marine Science.
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