US EditionOrcas Hunt Juvenile Great White Sharks for Livers in Mexico
- On November 3, 2025, scientists published video evidence showing Moctezuma's pod in the Gulf of California flipping juvenile great white sharks to induce paralysis and remove their livers.
- Climate shifts including El Niño have altered nursery areas, increasing juvenile great white sharks in the Gulf of California and making them more vulnerable to Moctezuma's pod predation.
- In August 2020 and August 2022, researchers recorded hunts involving five adult orcas and documented the deaths of three juvenile great white sharks using aerial drone and underwater cameras.
- Researchers warn repeated predation pressures slow-growing Great white sharks in Mexico and urge broader surveys to assess frequency and guide protected-area planning.
- These findings position Moctezuma's pod as specialized shark predators; Dr. Salvador Jorgensen said, `This is the first time we are seeing orcas repeatedly target juvenile white sharks` while Dr. Francesca Pancaldi noted, `So far, we have only observed this pod feeding on elasmobranchs`.
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69 Articles
Biology: In the Gulf of California, biologists have twice filmed a pod of orcas killing young white sharks. They are known as the largest…
Orcas Filmed Hunting Great White Sharks and Eating Only Their Livers
Orcas filmed hunting great white sharks. Credit: Robert Pittman / Public domain Researchers in Mexico have captured rare video evidence of orcas hunting great white sharks and removing only their livers with remarkable precision. The footage, recorded in the Gulf of California during two separate events in 2020 and 2022, shows the whales flipping young sharks upside down, stunning them, and slicing into their bodies to extract the fatty organ. T…
New images show a so far rare behavior: Why Orcas hunt the liver of white sharks – and why the technique fascinates.
Killer Whales Hunt Young Great White Sharks For Their Livers, Stun Them With Paralyzing Flip
Off the coast of Mexico, a pod of killer whales has developed a specialized hunting technique. The post Video: Killer Whales Hunt Young Great White Sharks For Their Livers, Stun Them With Paralyzing Flip appeared first on Study Finds.
In New Footage, Great Whites Are the Prey, Not the Predator
The great white shark is clearly not the apex predator of the ocean, according to new observations of orca hunting methods. For the first time in the Gulf of California, scientists have spotted orcas targeting juvenile great whites, flipping them upside down to induce a trance-like state before removing and...
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