Shocking footage captures the moment a 60-year-old grandmother orca attacked and killed a great white shark.
The incredibly rare fatal encounter, filmed as part of National Geographic limited series, “Queens,” showed the orca, named Sophia, charge and take a chomp out the shark.
“Orca are very smart animals,” Dr. Chris Lowe told ABC News. “They’re very powerful and, in some cases, probably even more powerful than a white shark.”
Scientists believe this is the first time a single orca was filmed killing a great white shark.
“I think what we’re seeing is probably an anomaly. I don’t think it happens that often,” Lowe said. “We often think of white sharks as being the top predator in the ocean when actually orca are.”
Orcas, also known as killer whales, can grow to nearly 30 feet long and can weigh up to six tons. They are social animals that typically live in groups, known as pods, which work together to hunt food.
The lone-wolf style of the attack on the shark may be an adaptation caused by climate change.
Orcas appear to have been getting more aggressive, with numerous reports in the past few years of the whales attacking ships. Some attacks seemed to have been out of vengeance.
In one incident off the coast of Gibraltar, a killer whale even ripped the rudder off a catamaran with its teeth.
“It probably does have something to do with behaviors and how they interact with these objects,” Lowe said. “Whether they’re, you know, bumping those to just being a nuisance, which is very different from attacking and killing something that you’re going to get food out of.”
