Great white shark's enemy in the ocean

(Dan Tri) - In the ocean world, the great white shark has long been considered a symbol of power and dominance, an apex predator with almost no natural enemies.

Great white sharks are gradually losing their power and dominance in the ocean (Photo: Getty).

However, recent observations have shaken this position when scientists recorded another species that can make white sharks run away, that is the killer whale (scientific name: Orcinus orca ).

The perfect predator under the ocean

Researchers recently recorded footage of a completely unrelated pod of killer whales off the coast of Mexico deliberately attacking a great white shark (scientific name: Carcharodon carcharias), thereby displaying an extremely sophisticated hunting strategy.

These killer whales, known as the Moctezuma pod, display an astonishing ability to coordinate their movements, according to reports from a research team led by marine biologist Erick Higuera Rivas.

Instead of lunging in and biting like ferocious predators, they take advantage of the phenomenon of “tonic immobility,” a state in which the shark becomes limp and immobile when flipped onto its back.

Camera captures killer whales in the Gulf of California hunting white sharks (Photo: Science Alert).

The group of five adults worked together to flip the prey upside down, completely incapacitating the shark, then precisely pulled out the liver. This is also the organ that contains the most fat and energy in the shark's body, and is targeted by predators.

According to Higuera, this is a clear manifestation of high-level intelligence, social learning ability and complex strategic thinking in killer whales, when hunting skills are passed down through generations.

Records show that at least two such predation incidents occurred in August 2020 and August 2022, suggesting the possibility that this is a seasonal cyclical behavior, possibly coinciding with the high occurrence of juvenile sharks.

New habit, or century-old enemy?

It is known that after killing their prey, killer whales often share the liver with the whole pod, including the calves. This behavior shows the close-knit social structure of this species.

Shark livers are an attractive target because they are large and contain abundant amounts of squalene oil, which helps sharks maintain energy during long migrations.

For killer whales, this is an ideal source of nutrition and also a worthy reward for a perfect hunting strategy.

Killer whales are becoming a threat to great white sharks (Photo: Getty).

“When killer whales appear, adult white sharks immediately evacuate the area and may not return for months,” adds marine ecologist Salvador Jorgensen of California State University.

But juveniles do not seem to perceive this threat.” The question is whether the great white shark's fear response is innate or learned behavior.

Since the 1990s, there have been scattered reports of killer whales attacking cartilaginous fish, but the Moctezuma pod is the only known instance of a pod specifically targeting white sharks.

Therefore, it is not possible to confirm whether the "shark hunting" behavior is a long-standing habit of killer whales, or has only been recorded recently.

Understanding this predatory behavior will not only help decipher more about killer whale biology, but also contribute to identifying key habitat areas for establishing protected areas and more effective marine environmental management, according to biologist Francesca Pancaldi of Mexico's Interdisciplinary Marine Science Center.

New findings show that the line between “apex predators” in the ocean is no longer fixed. Even species as feared as the great white shark sometimes fall prey in nature’s game of survival, where intelligence and adaptability are the most formidable weapons.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/khoa-hoc/ke-thu-cua-ca-map-trang-duoi-dai-duong-20251104080242265.htm