Marine biologist Alison Towner spent five years studying a pair of orcas off the coast of Gansbaai, South Africa. Whales drive away great white sharks.
On June 30, 2022, a long-term study by marine biologist Alison Towner was published in the “African Journal of Marine Science” showing that great white sharks avoid the coastal area around Gansbaai (South Africa) because of a pair of orcas. However, this same region was considered a legendary area for the observation of predatory fish.
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Eight shark victims
Over the course of the study, a total of eight great white sharks were killed in an orca attack. Seven of them made it to the beach without livers or hearts – wounds that could only have come from the pair of whales. Experts assume a much higher number of deaths, because not all sharks are just “half” eaten.
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danger to the ecosystem
The pair of orcas must therefore be responsible for a long-term mass expulsion of the sharks, because sightings have drastically decreased. The more orcas visit this area, the longer the big predatory fish stay away and the marine ecosystem changes. For example, increasing numbers of Cape seals – a favorite prey of great white sharks – are decimating critically endangered penguins in Africa.
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Who is to blame?
The question can be easily answered by the expert – of course and as always WE. Orcas are only supposed to show such an above-average interest in great white sharks because of the decline in various fish populations. Of course, sharks have always been in the orcas’ diet, but never has there been such selective hunting for predatory fish.
Time of the navigation account01.07.2022, 09:20| Act: 07/01/2022, 09:20