Conservationists are tracking various types of endangered mammals as well as fish species whose numbers have reached dangerously low levels – to better understand how to protect them.  But scientists in South Africa have taken a special interest in the plight of a fearsome predator that is still thriving – the Great White Shark.  In fact, despite their continued survival, Great Whites often find themselves under siege from another predator:  Orcas, better known as “killer whales.”

Getting close enough to Great Whites in the water to tag and track them is considered far too dangerous a human enterprise.  So, scientists have come to rely upon sensor-equipped drones and other low-flying aircraft to monitor shark migratory patterns. But it wasn’t until last month that a group of conservationists in South Africa were able to use their drones to gather visual evidence of an actual Orca attack on Great Whites. The drones not only recorded the attack but also the defensive tactics employed by Great Whites to try to survive and flee their predators.

In a video released by the team, a pod of killer whales chase a group of sharks for an hour off Mossel Bay, a port town in southern Western Cape province.  In one clip from the footage, five Orcas surround a Great White before the group leader strikes at the shark’s side, tearing out its liver, which the group proceeds to devour.  The scientists say judging from the remains seen in the water, the Orcas may have mauled three more Great Whites to death during their hunt.

Before the first attack, over a dozen Great Whites can be seen forming a circle to try to protect themselves from the Orcas.  However, at one point the Orcas are able to pick off one of the sharks and the rest of the pack disbands and flees.  According to the science team, which continued to monitor the area with drones, the sharks failed to return to the area of Mossel Bay for six weeks, apparently still terrified by the original attack.

The science team is also investigating the way the Orcas bit into the Great White on its side, seemingly in search of its liver.  Was the targeting of the attack deliberate? In addition, while Orcas are known to attack many different shark species, attacks on Great Whites specifically appear to be growing.

The team’s findings, published in the most recent issue of the journal Ecology, illustrate that drones –with their digitally-enhanced aerial view of marine life beneath the ocean’s surface – not only have a powerful role to play in conservation, but also in ongoing scientific research of marine species interactions.  In this case, a scientific team monitoring one species stumbled upon a predatory dynamic that was suspected but never confirmed.  Could strategically deployed drones, in tandem with more conventional marine tracking vehicles and sensors, be used to explore other mysterious patterns in aquatic life that remain unexplained?  It’s an intriguing possibility.

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