SHARKS are being driven away from their home by a pair of serial killer whales who have developed a taste of their livers.
The brutal bunch have been terrorising great white sharks off the coast of South Africa since 2017.
Remains have been washing up with the liver missingCredit: Marine Dynamics / Facebook
Scientists say it’s driven the shark population awayCredit: Marine Dynamics / Facebook
So far, seven torn remains have washed up on shore with their livers gruesomely removed.
They’ve also snacked on some of the sharks’s hearts too.
Expects suspect many more have met a grisly end further out to sea.
The large number of great white sharks that usually gather around the area appear to have got the hinted and decided its best to hang out some place else to avoid the same fate.
Researchers say the large-scale avoidance strategy is much like wild dogs in the presence of lions.
It’s not unheard of for orcas to kill sea creatures for dinner of course.
But rarely does it have such an impact on habitat.
Scientists were stunned to see sharks have been abandoning territory traditionally swarming with them.
Some tagged sharks did a runner for weeks and even months at a time.
“The more the orcas frequent these sites, the longer the great white sharks stay away,” said Alison Towner from the Dyer Island Conservation Trust.
“The research is particularly important, as by determining how large marine predators respond to risk, we can understand the dynamics of coexistence with other predator communities; and these dynamics may also dictate the interactions between competitors or intra-guild predator/prey relationship.”
Great white sharks aren’t exactly weak either, with up to 300 razor-sharp teeth that make them one of the toughest predators of the sea.
So much so, the whale duo have a fair share of scars.
The dramatic shift is also affecting the wider ecosystem, with another type of shark deciding to move into the free space.
The research is published in the African Journal of Marine Science.
source: thesun.co.uk
