Orcas and Great White Sharks
Report on hunting techniques for Orcas
and Great White Sharks in Cape Town. The White Shark has its nursery
in Gansbaai on the Atlantic Ocean in South Africa. The killer whale
also visits the South African coastal regions in search of food.
Killer whales can find many seals, especially in False Bay near Fish
Hoek. A problem arose at Fish Hoek that no white sharks could be seen
for weeks. It may be related to the fact that large schools of killer
whales have been observed in this region.
We would like to point out that our
cage diving takes place in Gansbaai and not in Fish Hoek!
Orcas and Great White Sharks - Hunting techniques - meeting of two hunters
The Monterey Bay Aquarium in
collaboration with Leland Stanford Junior University have studied the
behavior of great white sharks and orcas when they meet on the
world's oceans.
Monterey Bay Aquarium & Leland Stanford Junior University
The aquarium in the city of Monterey is
located in the middle of California on a rugged seashore. Leland
Stanford Junior University is also located in the USA - approx. 60 km
from the coastal city of San Francisco.
It is known in South Africa when orcas
appear in the False Bay of Cape Town that great white sharks dive
into the deep sea or seek out the open sea. The White Sharks shy away
from a fight, they do not want to be injured or killed. Smaller
sharks are likely to be afraid of orcas because they hunt in groups.
Therefore it could be that the great white shark is inferior to the
orcas under these conditions.
Scientists examined the data from a
total of 165 White Sharks, all of which were equipped with a tracking
device. They had many ways to compare killer whales and see how the
White Sharks reacted.
Intelligent killer whales
Even young animals attack sharks and
the older orcas wait patiently because they want to protect their
teeth. They also attack in a team. Even humpback or blue whales are
captured. To do this, they lie down on the whales and press them
underwater. In time the whale simply drowns. Young and inexperienced
whales are particularly easy prey.
Another trick is creating small or
large waves. If there are seals on the mainland, swim in a group to
the sleeping seal. They create a wave and the seal falls into the
sea. This is how they can practice their hunting techniques on ice
floes in the Antarctic and make plenty of prey.
In the study, the two giants of the
seas only met four times. At each meeting, the Great White Shark
dives into the depths of the seas. In some cases it was observed that
the White Shark sought another hunting area and did not return to the
old area for at least 1 year.
During the investigations they were
able to document a direct attack on a great white shark. At this
point we cannot say whether it was a decrepit shark.
However, the attack was fatal to this
shark. The attackers only ate the oily liver, which is very
nutritious. This approach is not an isolated case.
Great white shark and the revolver
teeth
The White Shark's revolver denture has
nothing to do with a revolver, but is only intended to show that a
great white shark has teeth that grow back and that fall out, but
keep growing again.
Brief comparison of both animals:
Killer whales
-
Body length: ± 10 meters
-
Females: 5 - 6 meters
-
Males: 7-10 meters
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Weight: 6,000 - 9,000 kilograms
-
Life expectancy: between 50 and 80 years
-
Top speed: ± 55 km / h
-
swims per day: approx. 200 km
-
Teeth length: about 10 cm
-
Schools: 10 to 70 animals
-
Diving depths: 30 to 150 meters
-
Dives: 15-20 minutes underwater
-
Emergence: every 2 to 5 minutes

Great
white sharks
-
Size of the female: up to 7 meters
-
Size of the male: up to 5 meters
-
Top speed: up to 60 km / h
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Weight: approx. 3.5 tons
-
Diving depth: up to 1,280 meters
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Dentition: Revolver dentition
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Teeth: 300 triangular teeth
-
Teeth length: 7.5 centimeters
-
Bite force: 3,000 to 18,000 Newtons - strongest bite force
-
Some marine researchers believe that the great white shark is not deliberately attacked by killer whales. It could also be the delimitation of a hunting area.
You should contact us for further
information.
Your Cape Town shark diving team