<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Scientists have captured incredible images of orcas hunting great white sharks with specialised techniques.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The orca pod in question has been seen in the Gulf of California, targeting junior great whites.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Previously, shark-hunting orcas had only been seen around South Africa, where they targeted larger adults.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/british-police-say-multiple-people-were-stabbed-on-a-train-near-cambridge-and-2-individuals-arrested/0f8497e4-a984-4b4f-b94f-875fe955340d" target="_blank"><strong><span>Police give major update on horror Britain train mass stabbing</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Gulf of California pod, dubbed Moctezuma's pod, also displays specific hunting methods.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They flip the sharks upside-down to induce a temporary paralysis, before eating their livers, which are rich in energy.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I believe that orcas that eat elasmobranchs – sharks and rays – could eat a great white shark, if they wanted to, anywhere they went looking for one," said marine biologist Erick Higuera Rivas, project director at Conexiones Terramar and Pelagic Life and lead author of the article in </span><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1667683/full" rel="" target="_blank" title="Frontiers in Marine Science"><em><span>Frontiers in Marine Science</span></em></a><span>.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/orcas-seen-killing-great-white-sharks-specialised-hunting-techniques/35b5e419-672e-40fb-a1fd-f7c6af5f41a8" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-orders-pentagon-to-prepare-for-war-in-nigeria/8f2e241e-e5bb-467d-8a4b-fa501e379026" target="_blank"><strong><span>Pentagon preparing war plans after Trump threatens nation online</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This behaviour is a testament to orcas' advanced intelligence, strategic thinking, and sophisticated social learning, as the hunting techniques are passed down through generations within their pods."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The scientists spotted two hunts, killing three white sharks, during routine monitoring of the orcas.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>During the first hunt, in August 2020, five orcas were seen pursuing a juvenile white shark.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/finance/family-financial-help-heating-up-housing-market-finder-survey/ef0be735-9f2d-4a88-a7b0-31c7b642a38f" target="_blank"><strong><span>The concerning factor believed to be behind surging house prices</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They pushed it to the surface and worked together to turn it upside down.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ultimately, they took it underwater and reappeared with the shark's liver in their mouths.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Shortly afterwards, they did the same with a second juvenile shark.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/uk-train-stabbing-what-we-know-updates-explainer/9ac3a054-5aec-4026-b9ef-fe16d9ea4fe5" target="_blank"><strong><span>'Heroic' staffer fighting for his life after saving people in UK train stabbing</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A second hunt, witnessed in August 2022, followed a similar pattern: five orcas pushed a juvenile white shark onto its back and up to the surface.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The shark was bleeding from its gills, and its liver was visible. The orcas were seen eating it.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Turning a shark upside down like that induces a state called tonic immobility, by changing the shark's awareness of its surroundings in a way that paralyses it.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This temporary state renders the shark defenceless, allowing the orcas to extract its nutrient-rich liver and likely consume other organs as well, before abandoning the rest of the carcass," Higuera said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>By looking at the sharks' injuries, scientists think that orcas could have developed a specialised technique to induce this state which minimises the chances of being bitten.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This is the first time we are seeing orcas repeatedly target juvenile white sharks," said Dr Salvador Jorgensen of California State University, an author of the article.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Adult white sharks react quickly to hunting orcas, completely evacuating their seasonal gathering areas and not returning for months.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But these juvenile white sharks may be naive to orcas. We just don't know yet whether white shark anti-predator flight responses are instinctual or need to be learned."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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