Beastly killer whale duo massacre 18 giant sharks with ‘only their livers eaten’
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Large numbers of sharks have been washing up on beaches with no liver after a bloodthirsty duo of killer whales slayed them.
Overall 18 sharks are now believed to have fallen victim to a pair of murderous orcas that have been terrorising predators off the coast of False Bay, South Africa.
The “infamous” pair, known as Port and Starboard, have in most cases taken out the sharks’ livers, and in one case taken the head.
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Of the carcases, 17 are thought to be seven-ill sharks while the final one a small spotted gully shark.
The sharks have recently been necropsied at Marine Dynamics Academy lodge by shark scientists Alison Towner and Ralph Watson.
The pair found that the sharks had been brutalised by the liver-hungry apex predators, which have been hunting big fish in the area since 2015.
In 2017 the pair are thought to have developed a taste for great white sharks, performing so effectively that sharks in the area abandoned their regular behaviour.
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Discussing the latest batch of killings from Port and Starboard, Towner said: “It is fascinating to see the way these sharks have been handled by the orcas, in this case, similar to the first necropsy, every shark had really clear orca tooth impressions known as rake marks on them."
She added: “I have necropsied all the white sharks killed by this pair and while rake marks were present they were not as clear, this could be down to different handling and gripping techniques by the orcas or that sevengills have softer skin more conducive to showing the tooth impressions."
One of the sevengill sharks was found still have its liver intact.
Watson, who specialises in smaller breeds, said of the gully shark’s death: “This is the first time we have confirmed the orcas to prey on this species and shows they are capable of handling smaller sharks than we thought”.
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