A dead shark washed ashore on a beach in South Africa after a hunting spree by two infamous killer whales.
The Mossel Bay-based Ocean Research Institute said that the two orcas, who have been named Port and Starboard, were spotted hunting an 8-foot great white shark around Seal Island, near Cape Town, on June 18.
The next day, a dead great white washed up on a nearby beach. However, it was not the same shark documented in the hunt.
Port and Starboard are not just known for eating sharks, but for using gruesome methods to hunt them.
Oceans Research Institute
Some of their shark victims were discovered washed ashore with their livers missing.
Dr. Enrico Gennari, director of the Ocean Research Institute, told Newsweek that the shark found on June 19 was “open completely.”
“Even more so than previous times. It was almost as if they put a different kind of effort into it. Before, it almost looks like the shark was pushed gently, however, yesterday the people on the boat [who witnessed the attack] described that the shark breached out of the water almost as if to get away from the orcas, and then the orcas pushed them further. And it lasted a few minutes. And the shark was being dragged around in the mouth. So it seemed like a different type of kill.”
At the moment, the institute can’t confirm whether the sharks the orcas had been hunting on Sunday were subjected to this gruesome method.
Port and Starboard‘s predation on sharks has been going on for years. Great white sharks are an endangered species but Gennari said that human activity is a much bigger problem for the species than killer whales.
Gennari said that shark nets in the area kill between 25 and 30 great whites a year, whereas the two orcas don’t even kill half as many over a 12-month period.
While nothing can be done about the orcas, he said humans can take action to protect sharks. For example, trophy fishing is a major threat to the species
Port and Starboard first gained attention off the Western Cape of South Africa in 2015. This is when it became clear that the pair were responsible for the deaths of several broadnose sevengill sharks discovered by scuba divers.
However, they did not stop there. Between 2017 and 2019, the orcas started turning their sights on great white sharks.
The orcas presence in local waters has even caused great white populations to disperse in certain areas.
False Bay, between Cape Point and Cape Hangklip, used to be a hotspot for the endangered species. But since 2017, great whites have all but disappeared from the area.
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