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`.
32 Articles
32 Articles
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...
Killer whales perfect a ruthless trick to hunt great white sharks
In the Gulf of California, a pod of orcas known as Moctezuma’s pod has developed a chillingly precise technique for hunting young great white sharks — flipping them upside down to paralyze and extract their nutrient-rich livers. The behavior, filmed and documented by marine biologists, reveals a level of intelligence and social learning that suggests cultural transmission of hunting tactics among orcas.
Orcas Filmed Paralyzing Great White Sharks Before Eating Their Livers
In the Gulf of California, a pod of orcas has developed a taste for shark liver. Researchers have now documented multiple attacks on juvenile great white sharks, revealing a hunting method that’s both efficient and a bit unsettling. The whales flip their prey upside down, inducing paralysis before tearing out the organ and sharing it among the group. The study, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, describes three separate attacks carried ou…
Researchers have filmed sword whales in the Gulf of California during hunting, where the predators apparently use a trick to make their prey defenseless.
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