It’s time to add another observation to the growing list of odd—and sometimes intense—behaviors of orcas. This one is much less humorous than wearing salmon hats, though, and shows why the animals are also known as “killer whales:” a group of orcas was filmed for the first time targeting and killing young great white sharks to eat their nutritious livers, and only the livers. Yeesh.
Why it matters: The observation shows how orcas can learn behaviors and pass them down to new generations in their pods (the liver-hunting tactic had been observed in the same group of orcas three years ago). It also suggests that warming ocean waters may be pushing great white shark nurseries into orca territory, which could spell trouble for shark populations.
What the experts say: “Nursery areas are where young sharks spend time growing and learning to forage, so displacing them from those habitats can be disruptive,” says Alison Towner, a marine biologist at Rhodes University in South Africa, who specializes in orca predation of sharks.
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—Andrea Thompson, Senior Desk Editor, Life Sciences
