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Port and Starboard, the two orcas (or killer whales) who have become notorious for chowing down on great white shark liver in our coastal waters, are back at it again – naturally.

The duo usually work together to hunt the sharks, incising their rumps with chilling precision to extract their fatty livers before leaving the poor fish for dead. Once the killer pair even ripped into a whopping 17 sharks in just one day. It’s safe to say that Port and Starboard have essentially upended the food chain in the Western Cape’s waters.

Well, the two of them were recently spotted in Mossel Bay again and are blowing scientists’ minds for unexpectedly hunting alone this time.

The Independent describes how one of them hunted and ate a great white shark within two minutes in an “astonishing” attack last summer:

Doctor Alison Towner, who is from Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa has studied the animals for several years, said: ““The astonishing predation, off the coast of Mossel Bay, South Africa, represents unprecedented behaviour underscoring the exceptional proficiency of the killer whale.”

As the scene unfolded, it showed Starboard making the kill alone while Port swam at a distance, the South African noted. Researchers were nearby to record the event, which has now been published in the African Journal of Marine Science.

This event represents the first documented case of a solitary orca actively pursuing and taking down a great white shark – behaviour that defies the traditional belief that killer whales exclusively hunt in pairs or larger pods.

“This sighting revealed evidence of solitary hunting by at least one killer whale, challenging conventional cooperative hunting behaviours known in the region,” Towner said.

Towner had led an international research team that observed the event, with fellow researchers Esther Jacobs and Christiaan Stopforth noticing a juvenile great white being pursued by Starboard.

“The moment Starboard rapidly preyed on my favorite shark species was both devastating and intensely powerful,” said Jacobs.

The solitary predation incident prompts inquiries into the changing hunting strategies of killer whales and their potential influence on shark behaviour along the South African coastline.

“As smart, top predators, killer whales can rapidly learn new hunting techniques on their own or from others,” Towner added. “Monitoring and understanding the behaviours used here and by other killer whales in South Africa is an important part of helping us understand more about these animals.”

And so the life of Port and Starboard remains a fascination.

[source:independent&southafrican]