'They Eat Sharks': Eco Tour Interrupts Killer Whales Hunting Great White
We may think of great white sharks as the ocean’s apex predators, but killer whales are the real top dogs, and have been observed to hunt and kill the great white.
Donavan Smith was leading a marine safari tour off Knysna, South Africa, when he spotted a group of killer whales in the water. He stopped the boat, considering they were likely hunting for something. That’s when he spotted a “monster great white” also in the water
The great white shark, Smith said, was “charged” by the killer whales, “and swam to the boat for shelter. I could not really move as the orcas were moving around, and all over the boat trying to get to the shark.”
Around two minutes into the footage here, the shark is seen narrowly avoiding two of the killer whales. At another point, a killer whale and what looks to be the shark appear to clash in the water; however, judging from the closing moments of Smith’s video, it looks like the shark lived to fight another day.
The first documented sighting of killer whales hunting a great white was in 1997, according to National Geographic. Credit: Donavan Smith via Storyful
