A new marine predator rivalry is emerging in the waters of Australia, shaking up the long-established hierarchy of the oceans. The great white shark, long feared as the apex predator of the seas, is now being outmatched by an even more formidable adversary—killer whales. Recent observations near Victoria’s coastline confirm what scientists have suspected for years: orcas are actively hunting great white sharks, targeting their nutrient-rich livers with surgical precision.
First Confirmed Evidence in Australia
For the first time, direct proof of orcas preying on great white sharks has been recorded in Australia. In October 2023, a 4.7-meter-long great white washed up on the shores of Portland, Victoria, missing its liver, digestive organs, and reproductive system. Just two days earlier, witnesses reported a group of orcas hunting a large prey in the same waters. Among them were two well-known individuals, Bent Tip and Ripple, notorious for their coordinated attacks.
Forensic examination of the shark’s 50 cm wound near its pectoral fin revealed something extraordinary—DNA evidence of an orca attack. This marks a turning point in marine research, confirming that killer whales are not just competing with great white sharks—they are actively hunting them.
Why Orcas Are Targeting Great White Sharks
Orcas are renowned for their intelligence and adaptability, hunting with advanced strategies that few marine species can counter. Their diet is incredibly diverse, including:
- Whales
- Seals and sea lions
- Large fish
- Sharks
But one specific trait makes orcas particularly deadly to great whites: their surgical precision. Across the globe, orcas have developed a technique to extract only the most valuable part of their prey. In South Africa, researchers have observed orcas dissecting great white sharks with pinpoint accuracy, removing their livers while leaving the rest of the body largely intact. This same pattern is now emerging in Australian waters.
Why the liver? Shark livers are rich in lipids, an energy-dense nutrient that provides orcas with a high-calorie boost. This behavior suggests a level of strategic feeding rarely seen outside human hunting practices.
The Impact on Great White Shark Populations
This new predator-prey dynamic could have massive ecological consequences. In South Africa, the arrival of orcas in great white shark habitats has led to a dramatic drop in shark sightings. Fearful of attacks, many great whites have abandoned key hunting grounds, disrupting local marine ecosystems.
If orcas continue hunting great white sharks in Australia, similar consequences could follow:
- Shark population decline: As orcas systematically target them, great white numbers could plummet.
- Changes in shark behavior: Fear of orcas may drive sharks to avoid certain regions, altering migration patterns.
- Ripple effects in marine food webs: With fewer sharks to keep populations of seals and fish in check, entire ecosystems could shift.
Are Orcas the New Ocean Apex Predator?
For decades, the great white shark reigned as the undisputed top predator of the seas. Now, orcas are proving that intelligence and coordinated hunting tactics can outmatch raw power. These recent discoveries in Australia provide a new perspective on how marine superpredators interact—and suggest that orcas may be the ultimate rulers of the ocean.
Old news nothing new here
Orcas have the edge due to their superior intelligence for instance I do not think a great white would interact with humans in a captive situation The way orcas can but I would not like to be in the water with either
Nat Geo did an episode about this a few yrs ago. They said an adult great white can have a1,000 pound liver that takes up to 90% of their abdomen. It’s that large to give it boyancy. All those oily lipids stored in the liver.
How is this considered a “new” finding?
Killer Whales have always been the planets ultimate APEX predator. They are much bigger, much more powerful and much smarter than Great Whites, it’s not even close.
I heard about Orcas killing Great Whites when I was a little kid 30+ years ago. I assumed this was common knowledge.
It has ALWAYS been known that orcas are the top predator. They are at least twice the size and at least four times the weight of the largest great whites.
Obviously something is missing from their diet and it is causing them to eat shark livers. If it was just hunger they would surely eat the entire shark.
We have been destroying the oceans for far too long and this is probably a consequence.
Feels more like we are only becoming more aware of something that always was.
Your miss labeling the predator angle. Orcas have been capable and probably have killed basically whatever they want (including white sharks) for longe than homo sapiens have been walking the earth. They may have shifted focus in areas to hunting white sharks. Probably due to OUR (humans) activities. What else is new. Are they capable of decimat8ng white shark populations? Probably. Apex predator populations are very fragile to these things.
Well humans are hesitant to cull shark numbers, so now mother nature is stepping in. Who are we to interfere with this when we have previously ignored rising numbers of sharks and other such predators.
Plus, how do we know this will only bode I’ll?? The phrasing of the article suggests it will without evidence, which is currently unavailable at this very early pre-stage.
Living in the Northwest 55 years ago Orcas targeted schools of Salmon, Seals and Gray Whales as they migrated. In Northern California in the Farallon Islands 20 miles offshore from San Francisco about 15 years ago a commercial whale watching boats skipper witnessed two Orcas ram a large Great White Shark flip it and while one “held” the shark the other removed the liver with precision. It was the first time where someone witnessed the bigger apex predator Orca target and hunt the much feared apex predator Great White Shark.
Overfishing of Great White primary food of small sharks exported for Australia (flake and chips) has had a far greater impact upon their disappearance from False Bay.
Conveniently the appearance of Port and Starboard along with other attacks near Mosel Bay has sensationalised the observations and occurance of these attacks, but the decline of GWs and penguins is more related to overfishing and pollution.
Yeah unfortunately pretty sure man is still the apex preditor of the entire ocean. I don’t think we have to worry about the lack of great whites keeping fish and seal numbers down we do a pretty good job of that.
….interesting….
Talked to a Killer Whale once and the trainer knew it was me getting her to soak 18 stands of bleachers of ppl. It was glorious how she would smile wink roll her eyes and face at me nodding . We had a good time, love the killer whale which picked up my sense of perception vocaling and they have over 8 or 9 hundred ways of sonar speech linguistics. Beautiful creatures they are.
Agree with the previous comments. Old news!
Also, this has actually been captured on video in South Africa so this is just an attempt to gain viewers.
Killer whales have always been the apex predator outside of sperm whales possibly or giant squid. As great as the white shark is it has never been the Apex predator. And I think this article is incorrect when it says that the killer whales prevail because of their intelligence only making it sound like the shark has the power advantage. That’s never been the case unless you are possibly talking about a megalodon. This may be resulting from orcas missing their original dietary source or it could simply be a new learned behavior. They learn very quickly and they pass that information on to others in the same pod and even between pods. And it could be that they have just discovered white sharks are an easy target and possibly easier or more available than their original food source.
Fortunately they like us! But only to interact with NOT to eat! Wish we had them around Florida but its probably a bit too warm for them (at least for most of the year).
They need some milk!
I read at least 20 years ago that killers whales have already been eating great white liver , thist is nothing new and I’m pretty sure other people heard of this before and so has science.
Why is this of concern to human scientists if the apex predators have changed…. species population dynamics is never static, changing over decades, millennia, eons…..by what measure do we determine which species need be kept “in check”…….we are but observers in this, nothing more….
The most common theme of these comments seem to be pointing out that Orcas have been killing Great Whites for a long time. Humans, well, the Scientists who study either of these creatures, (Marine Biologists?), are just learning about it, despite the fact that it has been witnessed before by people who aren’t necessarily graduates w/a degree in Marine Science. Do we choose not to acknowledge the witnessed accounts of these acts? It’s a conundrum, of sorts?
I agree that Orcas have been apex as long as they evolved. They play a key role in controlling skyrocketing (due to federal protections and easy hatchery produced prey) . These unsustainable seal and sea lion populations plague the Pacific NW and Alaska as well as sea otters in Alaska devastating salmon and other fish, , crab, clams and other marine invertebrates.. So don’t worry; the Orcas will prey switch to seals or other shark prey when the shark populations diminish. Please send a contingent of Australian Orcas to the US and Canada; we could use some help cleaning up the mess our governments created.