Body of another great white shark killed by 'serial' killer whales washes up in South Africa
The body of another great white shark killed by a pair of "serial" killer whales has washed ashore in South Africa, with a marine biologist saying the mammals have changed their hunting range.
The discovery comes months after a paper, published in African Journal of Marine Science, concluded the same pair of orcas killed eight great white sharks since 2017, off Gansbaai south-east of Cape Town.
The predation caused the remaining population of great white sharks to flee the waters they once dominated
Now it seems the orcas have ranged even further east.
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This white shark carcass washed out yesterday at Hartenbos Beach, Mossel Bay. The animal was killed by a pair of orcas. Alison Towner
The body of the sub-adult female white shark sported 'precise' wounds. Alison Towner
Lead author Alison Towner, a senior white shark biologist at Rhodes University in Makhanda, shared photos of the freshly killed great white shark yesterday.
The dead shark - a sub adult female - washed up on Hartenbos, Mossel Bay, before washing back out to sea.
Towner told 9news.com.au this is the first time a great white killed by the orcas has been found in the region.
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"The orcas seem to be focusing more on this site now," she said, adding she believes the same two orcas are responsible for this kill.
"These are identical injuries to other sharks killed."
Photos of the dead great white shark show a large, clean hole in the centre of its chest.
Of the animals previously killed, seven had their livers removed, while some had their hearts removed too,
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Since 2017 eight dead great whites have washed up on Gansbaai, south-east of Cape Town. Hennie Otto
"It is very precise," Towner said.
"The orcas work together to tear open the sharks."
Towner added she is conducting her PhD on the behavioural interactions between the two species in South Africa and has more science coming out soon.
In vision released for last month's Shark Week three orcas were filmed preying on the great white in Mossel Bay. Discovery Channel
It's believed the orcas responsible for the attack may be members of a rare shark-eating morphotype.
World-first drone vision, shared last month as part of Discovery's Shark Week, captured a pod of orcas killing a white shark in a highly coordinated attack in Mossel Bay.
The video shows one of the orcas ripping out the shark's liver and eating it.
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