<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1fzSF1_0ngQlowF00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1fzSF1_0ngQlowF00" width="784" height="441" ><figcaption>(Photo by Michael Weberberger via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure><p>In the marine food chain, size will take you far. Though whale sharks don’t have much in the way of defensive adaptations, adults of the species have very few natural predators, thanks to their incredible size and 6-inch thick skin. One predator, however, is so ambitious and skilled in its hunts that it stands above even the great white shark, and that is the <a href="https://outsider.com/tag/orca/">orca</a>.</p><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><p>As the largest member of the dolphin family, an orca probably doesn’t immediately come to mind when considering the ocean’s top predators. In reality, however, it’s <i>the</i> top predator. </p><p>On its own, an orca is bigger, faster, and far stronger than a great white <a href="https://outsider.com/tag/shark/">shark</a>. But orcas don’t travel – or hunt – alone. Like enormous wolves of the deep, they hunt in packs, using the combined power and skill of the pod to take down any prey they desire. Not even whale sharks, the largest fish on Earth, are safe from a hungry pod.</p><p>So while we typically think of adult whale sharks as having no natural predators, it’s not at all surprising to learn that they sometimes fall victim to orcas.</p><p>In unbelievable footage, James Moskito, CEO of Ocean Safaris, a California-based ocean tour company, captured two orcas hunting down a whale shark off the coast of Baja California, Mexico.</p><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><div style="position:relative;width:100%; height:0; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o4UCFJZauAM?enablejsapi=1&version=3&playerapiid=ytplayer" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" style="width:100%; height:100%;top:0; left:0; position:absolute"></iframe></div><p>As the powerful predators approach the shark upside down, one sinks its teeth into the underside of the gentle giant before tearing its liver from its body, leaving the lifeless shark behind as it slowly disappears into the depths.</p><h2>‘It’s literally over in a matter of seconds’</h2><p>Now, this type of attack isn’t uncommon – for a <i>juvenile</i> whale shark. Though the world’s largest fish as adults, whale sharks are a mere 2 feet long at birth. As such, they’re vulnerable to a variety of predators, including sharks, marlin, and orcas.</p><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><p>An adult whale shark, however, is a different matter entirely. A fully grown whale shark reaches an awe-inspiring 40 feet in length or more, making this footage extremely rare. In fact, it’s the first known video depicting an orca hunt on an adult.</p><p>“It’s literally over in a matter of seconds,” Moskito told <a href="https://www.livescience.com/animals/orcas/watch-orca-tear-open-whale-shark-and-feast-on-its-liver-in-extremely-rare-footage">Live Science</a>. “They came in, they bit the bottom of the whale shark. Looks like they slurped in the liver and then the whale shark just fell and descended down, with no movement — I’m assuming it was dead.”</p><p>To put the encounter even further beyond belief, Moskito explained that moments after this attack, the orcas repeated the process on another whale shark. This one put up a stronger fight against its attacker, but ultimately succumbed to the powerful bite of the orca.</p><p>According to the diver, one of the orcas involved in both attacks is a well-known individual: an adult male by the name of Montezuma.</p><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><p>“He’s a known killer whale, and he was with this different pod this time,” Moskito said. “He was not with his normal pod. He was kind of the instigator of the stuff, even though in the video it’s a female biting it [the whale shark], not the male.”</p><h2>Orcas have learned that shark livers are both delicious and nutritious</h2><p>Though not nearly as notorious as Port and Starboard, the orca duo so feared by other marine predators that sharks won’t come within miles of them, Montezuma clearly has no qualms with shark hunting.</p><p>Like Montezuma and his companion, Port and Starboard <a href="https://outsider.com/outdoors/news-outdoors/great-white-shark-washes-ashore-following-orca-hunt/">don’t eat entire sharks</a>. Instead, they rip out the livers of their fellow predators and leave them for dead. </p><p>Scientists believe this is due to the orcas’ discovery that shark livers are an extremely nutritious food source. Using their well-honed hunting abilities, they can now <a href="https://outsider.com/outdoors/news-outdoors/two-orcas-devour-livers-17-sharks-brutal-killing-spree/">carve out a shark’s liver</a> in a single bite, leaving the rest behind.</p><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><p>“They likely initially learn by experience when first predating a new species,” marine biologist Alison Kock explained on <a href="https://twitter.com/UrbanEdgeSharks/status/1629136252153864192">Twitter</a>. “Once they know where the liver is, or any other body part they are specifically interested in, they will remember it forever and become more efficient.”</p></div></body>

Mountain View, CA

In the marine food chain, size will take you far. Though whale sharks don’t have much in the way of defensive adaptations, adults of the species have very few natural predators, thanks to their incredible size and 6-inch thick skin. One predator, however, is so ambitious and skilled in its hunts that it stands above even the great white shark, and that is the orca.