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In the latest news on horrors that lurk beneath your paddleboard, the Eastern Cape has confirmed its first case of an Orca ripping apart a shark for its liver along its coastal waters.

Although scientists already knew that killer whales were feasting on great whites in the Western Cape, this is the first time it has ever been confirmed in the Eastern Cape, suggesting the orcas are spreading their gruesome hunt for foi shark further afield.

Kevin Cole of East London Museum, in collaboration with Alison Towner of Rhodes University, conducted the necropsy of an adult shark that was found in the Nyara River Mouth.

The examination revealed that the shark was missing its liver, and its stomach also contained the fresh remains of a dolphin, cleanly severed into four pieces. It had been devoured not long before the orca attacked the shark, making the meal similar to a turducken (which pairs well with a nice chianti).

The shark’s heart was intact, and reproductive indicators showed it was a mature male animal. The raking of a killer whale was also found on the ventral surface of the shark’s head.

This incident is the 14th confirmed case of white shark predation by killer whales in South Africa since 2015. Scientists have not observed orca prey on great white sharks in any other area of the world, so it seems unique to the orca population in South Africa.

In fact, our two local orcas, Port and Starboard, are thought to be responsible for carrying out attacks off the coast of South Africa for several years. We missed a trick there and should have called them the Dahmer twins.

Whether these two were responsible for the Eastern Cape attack remains unknown, but the findings from this necropsy add to the growing body of evidence that killer whales are increasingly targeting white sharks along South Africa’s coast, with implications for both species’ populations and the broader marine ecosystem.

That settles it, I’m taking up hiking. Does anyone want to buy a second-hand surfboard?

[source:newsweek]