The great white sharks are one of the most dangerous creatures of the ocean. The white sharks are even named as white death in Australia. According to a study, white sharks are terrified by the orcas- the killer whale. The study was published in the journal Nature on Tuesday. The research conducted by Monterey Bay Aquarium in California using the electronic tag data. The study says the white sharks flee the feeding ground at the arrival of the killer whales. The giant white sharks not even return to that particular feeding ground for seasons.
The lead author of the paper Salvador Jorgensen- the senior research scientist in Monterey Bay Aquarium said, when the Orcas confront the great white shark, they vacate the haunting ground immediately. The scientists working on this particular research have compiled the data of orca, shark and seal surveys from 27 years in the Greater Farallones National marine sanctuary of San Francisco, California. The researchers also used the data of 165 giant white sharks that are tagged within the year 2006 and 2013. The scientists have observed four encounters of white shark and orcas at Southeast Farallon Island. In every meeting, the white shark flees the ground within an hour of arrival of the killer shark.
White shark terrified by the orcas is white sharks attack a good thing for the elephant seals as the elephant seals. The researchers have recorded about 4 to 7 attacks on elephant seals by the white sharks in Farallones Island. About forty elephant seal killed at Southeast Farallon island by the white sharks. After the appearance of the killer whale, there is not even a single white shark has shown up. White sharks killed no seal after that.
The giant white sharks showed up in the sanctuary between Septembers to December. The sharks usually feed on the seals during this time. On the other hand, orcas are not that frequent in the sanctuary. They showed up very rarely. The facts found in the study help understand the ocean ecosystem better. The white sharks are huge, measuring about 18 feet long and considered as one of the most dangerous creatures in the ocean who rules the ocean. These predators are fed on other aquatic animals and usually haunt for them. It is studied that both white shark and orcas are there in Farallones Island, they hunt for the same organisms to feed themselves. The reason why the white sharks are vacating the ground on the arrival of orcas is not apparent yet.
The scientists are suspecting that orcas may haunt the white sharks or the two predators may bully over the food, the killer whales forced out the white sharks. The study is critical because it helps in demonstrating the food chain. The particular case indicates that the food is not necessarily linear always, said Jorgensen when explaining the research. The food chain is not still linear in the sea, and it is challenging to analyze the interaction in the ocean between the predators.