Video: Orcas Hunt Great White Sharks, Teach Their Young To Eat The Livers

Scientists have recorded a killer sight at sea: orcas in the Gulf of California killing young great white sharks and eating their livers.

Orca pods in California, Australia and South Africa have been documented engaging in similar behavior. However, this is the first time that it has been recorded in Mexico, and hunts have been recorded and studied by California State University scientists, according to an article published Monday in Frontiers in Marine Science. It's also the first-ever footage showing orcas attacking juvenile great white sharks for their livers.

"This is the first time we are seeing orcas repeatedly target juvenile white sharks," said Dr. Salvador Jorgensen of California State University, an author of the article. "Adult white sharks react quickly to hunting orcas, completely evacuating their seasonal gathering areas and not returning for months. But these juvenile white sharks may be naive to orcas."

Scientists believe the behavior is spreading as climate change shifts great white nurseries north and a local pod passes down to its young, the trick to immobilizing sharks: flipping them on their backs to trigger a trancelike state.

Orcas have earned their nickname, "killer whales," for good reason. The ocean's top predators are skilled pack hunters, using coordination and strategy to outsmart their prey.

The specialized shark-hunting pod caught on camera, known as Moctezuma's pod, can be seen targeting juveniles, flipping them upside down, and feasting on their energy-rich livers.

"This behavior is a testament to orcas' advanced intelligence, strategic thinking, and sophisticated social learning, as the hunting techniques are passed down through generations within their pods," said marine biologist Erick Higuera Rivas, the lead author of the article, in a recent news release about their findings.

In one hunt, recorded in August 2020, five orcas coordinated an attack on a juvenile white shark, turned it upside down and removed its liver. The group attacked a second young great white shark soon after.

A second hunt, witnessed in August 2022, also involved five orcas that worked together to attack a young great white shark, push the shark onto its back and eat its liver.

Video courtesy of Erick Higuera

The strategic maneuver puts the shark into a state called "tonic immobility," leaving the sharks disoriented and unable to defend themselves, according to the study. That's when the orcas attack and aim for the liver.

"This temporary state renders the shark defenseless, allowing the orcas to extract its nutrient-rich liver and likely consume other organs as well, before abandoning the rest of the carcass," Higuera Rivas explained.

The new observations suggest that orcas may hunt great white sharks more often than scientists originally thought.

According to the study, Moctezuma's pod is likely taking advantage of an increased number of juveniles in the Gulf of California. Rising ocean temperatures and climate events such as El Niño have shifted great white shark nursery areas.

Scientists plan to conduct a detailed survey of the orca population's diet to understand whether they regularly hunt great white sharks or if they focus on the juveniles when they are available.

"So far we have only observed this pod feeding on elasmobranchs [sharks and rays]," said marine biologist and study co-author Francesca Pancaldi. "There could be more. Generating information about the extraordinary feeding behavior of killer whales in this region will lead us to understand where their main critical habitats are, so we can create protected areas and apply management plans to mitigate human impact."

Also see:

• Whale Entanglements Surge Off California's Coast As Threats Mount, Report Shows
• Something Alarming Is Happening To Gray Whales Off California's Coast
• Something 'Unprecedented' Is Happening With Orcas Off The CA Coast