Orca Killer Whale vs. Great White Shark

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But unlike sharks, killer whales know how to beach themselves to capture seals.

That video didn't really show me anything, but I think that 20 ft vs 10 ft. was more the deciding factor. The baby at half mom's size was the equal to the shark, and the shark was I guess wanting to eat the little whale. Big cajones for a shark.
 
There was a really short video clip about a decade ago of an Orca and a large Great White going at it. I imagine that even with the probable power edge going to the Orca ..the Great White could still do substantial damage in the conflict.

Well, unlike a medium-sized shark, an orca won't be able to swim in 3 foot shallow water. Well, although they can't swim in 3 feet of water, I've watched footage of Orca in concert play cat and mouse with seals and whatnot where one will beech themselves to scare the prey into the water ..where the other one is waiting to eat them. They're smart enough to cooperate.
 
Great Whites attack using the art of surprise, usually surging straight at their prey from below before they even know what hit them.

Orcas are highly intelligent and hunt in groups just like a pack of wolves.

I think an adult great white would would know better than to try to attack an orca since he would likely not be alone.

Two adults, one-one in an open body of water. Oooh, that would be a toss up
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If the shark lost its element of surprise, then the orca would have the odds hugely in its favor, even if alone.

[ March 30, 2006, 05:03 PM: Message edited by: Razl ]
 
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I've watched footage of Orca in concert play cat and mouse with seals and whatnot where one will beech themselves to scare the prey into the water
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Gary, the orca won't trick me into going in the water.
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By the way, most shark attacks on humans occur in very shallow water, often only knee-deep. That great whites attack only coming up straight at their prey is a myth, just like the claim that they have to swim upside down in order to bite. Several people (almost always surfers) get bitten, occasionally killed, by great whites along the coast here along the Central/Northern CA coast. The Farallon Islands West of the Golden Gate are breeding grounds of great white sharks. We find dead whales failry often on our beaches. They usually have chunks bitten out of them -- some of the bites have the size of car tires.
 
I think those dead whales died of soemthing other than shark attacks, and sharks took bites after finding them dead.
PS outrun: Neither man nor orca is the greatest predator. That title goes to Time. In the end it will devour everything. (At least that's what Jean-Luc Picard said--or will say in a few hundred years)
 
Uh, yeah, I didn't mean to imply that healthy whales were being killed by sharks. I should have been clearer. I only meant to point out the presence of enormous sharks in our local waters.
 
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Gary, the orca won't trick me into going in the water.
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The oddest thing that I recall when the Jacques Cousteau documentaries were new and fairly popular (I was very young) is the revelation that Orca "like" humans. All for no good da-aem reason
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They can't be all that intelligent
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"Like" as in "like" Richard Harris?
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(I know Gary is a movie buff. Everyone else is likely to scratch their head now.)
 
Well it's not likely that they will ever tell. (btw-I can't place the movie that you're hinting towards - failing mental faculties, I guess)
 
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Originally posted by moribundman:
That great whites attack only coming up straight at their prey is a myth, just like the claim that they have to swim upside down in order to bite.
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Well, you did add "only" so you are not incorrect. Great Whites do usually attack from underneath, not a myth. Humans tend to be in shallow water splashing around so it's not possible for the shark to get its 15 ft+ body length below someone all the time. If a human or any other prey was in deep water, the shark would probably stick its head out of the water (the only shark that can do this) to spot you, then dive down below you and launch straight up. That's his specialty
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I was just pointing out that the preferred method of attack is not the only type of attack. In the case of shark attacks in shallow water, where most attacks on humans happen, there may not be enough room for the preferred method -- although a two-foot long shark could also come straight up and find something to bite... ouch!
 
I watched that clip and couldn't really see what was going on. The orca did grab something in its mouth, but it looked pretty small, certainly not large enough to be a 10 foot white shark.

As for shark attacks on shallow beaches, around these parts, those are usually due to bull sharks, which are notorious for swimming in shallow water.
 
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