What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

Killer Whales (Orcas) killing great white sharks... (1 Viewer)

E

eoMMan

Footballguy
Whoa....didn't know they do this...

https://nypost.com/2017/12/11/killer-whales-fight-great-white-sharks-for-ocean-supremacy/
 

"So how exactly does an orca hunt a great white?

One theory is that the orca shuts down all communication, sneaks up and stuns the shark by slapping it with its massive, powerful tail. Then it flips the shark on its back, causing momentary paralysis, and pushes the shark through the water until it suffocates. The orca finishes its attack by carefully tearing open a hole in the shark to remove the liver, the largest and most nutrient-rich organ."

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yup. Divers/scientists discovered they could flip sharks upside down to temporarily paralyze them ("tonic state"). Not sure if they figured that out themselves or learned it from observing orcas do it. 

 
The strange/cool part of this story is that the Orcas only eat the shark's liver, then just leave its carcass to rot. It just seems like a ton of work and risk for just that one tasty, nutritious morsel of shark liver.  It reminds me of a nature doc I saw years ago, where a few orcas hunted a mom and baby whale for hours over many miles. When they finally managed to separate the exhausted whales from each other and kill the baby, the orcas ate its lower jaw only. Orcas are weird, man.

 
CletiusMaximus said:
The strange/cool part of this story is that the Orcas only eat the shark's liver, then just leave its carcass to rot. It just seems like a ton of work and risk for just that one tasty, nutritious morsel of shark liver.  It reminds me of a nature doc I saw years ago, where a few orcas hunted a mom and baby whale for hours over many miles. When they finally managed to separate the exhausted whales from each other and kill the baby, the orcas ate its lower jaw only. Orcas are weird, man.
Click to expand...
They were just sending a message to the papa whale.

 
There's always a bigger fish/mammal. People have this image of orcas just jumping around, doing tricks, etc., but they've earned the title "wolves of the sea." They will eat just about anything, and figure out ways to get it into the water if it currently isn't. 

 
Saw part of a show on Animal Planet last night where orcas were hunting dolphins. Evidently, they separate a few of them from the big group (pod?) and then pick one of the few to go after. On this particular show, three orcas isolated one dolphin and pursued it until it fatigued at which point they could hit it and kill it. Surprised me as 1) that seems like a tactic smaller predators would employ on larger prey and 2) I would think the orcas would tire long before the more elusive dolphin. Fascinating creatures.

They did say, too, that the Great Whites don’t stick around when the orcas are in the area. That was surprising to me, too.

 
CletiusMaximus said:
The strange/cool part of this story is that the Orcas only eat the shark's liver, then just leave its carcass to rot. It just seems like a ton of work and risk for just that one tasty, nutritious morsel of shark liver.  It reminds me of a nature doc I saw years ago, where a few orcas hunted a mom and baby whale for hours over many miles. When they finally managed to separate the exhausted whales from each other and kill the baby, the orcas ate its lower jaw only. Orcas are weird, man.
Click to expand...
I read a book about a guy who was stranded at sea for 438 days. Next to finding empty water bottles with a little bit of chew spit in them, shark liver was his favorite treat. His body craved the nutrients so badly that he compared to it eating candy.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

gianmarco
Drone footage -- Orcas killing a great white shark
Replies
18
Views
447
msudaisy26
msudaisy26
GregR
Greg's Useless Trivia #54
Replies
14
Views
593
GregR
GregR
BobbyLayne
The 25 Greatest Films of the 21st Century So Far
2 3 4
Replies
155
Views
6K
El Floppo
El Floppo

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Top