Another Great White Shark Attacked by Orcas
A great white shark washed up dead onto the shores of Western Cape was discovered to have been attacked by killer whales, or orcas. The endangered species of white sharks is greatly affected by the orcas that have been killing their kind in the past few months.
Fox News reported that a great white shark was found on the shores of Western Cape in South Africa, according to a spokeswoman of Marine Dynamics.
The shark, with a length of 13.5 feet, was found last Saturday. Marine biologist Alison Knock, from South African National Parks, confirmed last Monday that the fourth white shark found on Pearly Beach had wounds that suggest an orca attack, Times Live reported.
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The previous great whites that were found dead by orca predation were found in Gansbaai, 40 kilometers away from Pearly Beach. According to the autopsies on these previous white sharks, their livers had been taken off with a way of "surgical precision." The reason why orcas might be targeting their livers is because they weigh almost as much as a person and that it is highly nutritious.
Marine Dynamics posted and confirmed on Facebook that the great white found recently found ashore was the fourth shark to die from an orca attack.
"This is the 4th documented deceased white shark since May that we can connect to orca predation," White Shark biologist Alison Towner said.
The pair of orcas that are suspected of killing the four great whites were last sighted in Danger Point and in Franskraal. However, there have been no recent sightings of the pair, which suggests that they have moved away to a different area.
There has been a misconception about orcas because of the movie "Free Willy" that hit theaters in 1993. Orcas have been viewed as intelligent and friendly, concealing the fact that they dominate the food chain and have been targeting great white sharks as their prey.
