killer whale attacks on great white sharks on the rise

In recent years, the killer whale, one of the largest marine predators in the world, seems to systematically target white sharks off South Africa. This is the theory of Alison Towner, biologist and specialist in great white sharks. “Thanks to necropsies, we found that the sharks no longer had livers, and that they had traces of killer whale bites”, she explains. The problem ? White sharks are at the very top of the food chain. Their disappearance leads to cascading upheavals: too many sea lions, threat of penguins… “In fact, the whole ecosystem is unbalanced”observes Alison Towner.

Dave Hurwitz and Sasha Dines, marine biologists, are the first to have photographed killer whales in the bay very close to the coast. They have been seeing them regularly, and have also witnessed attacks. Scientists don’t understand why killer whales target great white sharks so aggressively. The absence of white sharks in the region also has an impact on tourism, since thousands of visitors come each year to observe the predators up close. Today, divers no longer see white sharks. In the region, the prolonged absence of great white sharks is an unprecedented event in the memory of inhabitants.