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02 March 2024, 05:59 PM IST An orca nicknamed Starboard hunted and killed the shark within two minutes, researchers say. Photo: Christian Stopforth
MsOrcas, known as killer whales, hunt and eat animals such as dolphins. Hunting is often done in groups. But for the first time in memory, the news is coming out that a shark has been hunted. It was reported from the Mossel Bay coast of South Africa. Researchers claim that it took only two minutes for the killer whale to hunt and eat the great white shark. The orca, nicknamed Starboard, killed the shark within seconds.
Starboard is the leading orca killer of sharks in South Africa. In 2017, two orcas were spotted hunting large numbers of sharks in South African waters. One of these is the starboard male orca.
The two-minute long hunt on June 18, 2023 is also believed to shed more light on the behavior patterns of orcas. Experts say that although they are capable of hunting alone, they often hunt in groups. At 3.02 pm, the Great White Shark surfaced. The killer whale that came after it grabbed the shark’s left fin. Later it was bitten and bitten. A short time later, the shark’s liver, which had bled in the orca’s mouth, also caught the researchers’ attention. It is still unclear when orca bites the livers of giant sharks.
Great Wet Shark | Photo: Wiki/ By Terry Goss, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1561215
The orca single-handedly hunted a younger great white shark that was 2.5 meters long and weighed 100 kg. Adult great white sharks can reach 6.5 meters in length and weigh up to 2.5 tons. Regardless, the researchers concluded that orcas definitely need the help of others in their group to hunt larger prey.
Two to six groups of orcas usually hunt sharks in this area. Even with multiple orcas, this takes about two hours. Researchers share the concern that changes in orcas’ hunting behavior may pose a challenge to the survival of various shark species. A detailed study report on the incident has been published in the African Journal of Marine Science.
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2024-03-02 12:29:32
