Sciences. The Orca pair drives away and kills the great white sharks of South Africa.

In South Africa, a pair of orcas drive and kill white sharks from their natural habitat.

Great white sharks are now fearfully avoiding the coastal region around Gansai, formerly considered one of the world’s most legendary areas for watching giant predators, a study published Thursday in the African Journal of Marine Sciences reports.

According to the study, eight great white sharks have washed ashore in the area since 2017 after an orca attack. Seven of them lost their livers, and some lost their hearts – wounds evidently from the same pair of orcas.

A large number of unreported cases

Researchers suspect that it also killed other white sharks that had not washed ashore. Orcas (killer whales) are distributed worldwide and feed on fish and seals, among other things.

The results of the study, which began in 2017, indicate that the attacks caused a rapid and long-term mass exodus of great white sharks. Great white shark sightings on Gansbaai have seen a “significant decline” since 2017.

Gansbaai is located in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The place attracts tourists from all over the world who want to see great white sharks from diving cages.

growing presence

Data not yet released indicate that orca presence is increasing in coastal areas of Southern Africa. It is thought that the orca may belong to a rare shark-eating subspecies that preys on at least three types of sharks.

Towner said the changes in fishing behavior could be linked to declining numbers of various fish that were previously prey for orcas.

SDA