White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) photo: Howard Hall

Orca Meets White Shark  Who's Queen of the Sea?

by Peter Pyle    From PRBO Observer #111, Fall 1997

October 4, 1997. Southeast Farallon Island. News via marine radio from the vessel New Superfish- that an orca had just killed a large shark immediately north of the island-catapulted us into action. Field biologists Jon King, Will Richardson and I jumped into our 17' white shark research vessel and headed for the event. Through heavy seas, we slogged into a large slick strewn with bits of shark. Just ahead of us an orca came to the surface, lifting the head of a 12' White Shark out of the water!With our video pole-camera extended underwater, we circled the event, obtaining footage of the sinking shark carcass and the whale feeding on a table sized chunk of the shark's liver. As quickly as that, it was over, but the memory will last a lifetime.

We had considered this situation but never thought we would ever see it. What would happen if an orca met a white shark? Now we have some idea. But orcas are rare around the island; PRBO biologists have observed them fewer than once per year on average, over the past 15 years. In fact, wherever in the Pacific orcas are common, white sharks are rare and viceversa. Through evolution, it seems, the two species have been kept in their separate corners. Thus we consider this recent event anomalous- of minimal ecological importance. Biased no doubt by our respect for the fish, we prefer to think that there are still two queens of the sea.

Links to other white shark/orca encounters/stories:

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/InNews/deangrubbs.htm

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/InNews/peterpyle.htm

http://whale.wheelock.edu/archives/info97/0281.html