15-foot shark just ate 6-foot dolphin when something bigger got them both, team says

A mangled 15-foot great white shark had just swallowed a large dolphin when it was attacked and split open by an even bigger predator, experts discovered.

The shark’s carcass washed up May 28 on South Africa’s Eastern Cape, and closer inspection helped experts identify the apex predator that killed it.

“Killer whale rake (teeth) marks were found on the ventral surface of the shark’s head,” according to marine biologist Alison Towner with the Dyer Island Conservation Trust.

“The shark’s liver was missing, with only a small piece of tissue remaining.”

A photo taken on the beach shows two carcasses were found. The second was “a freshly consumed” 6-foot, 6-inch common dolphin that was folded up in the shark’s stomach, Towner said.

It had been bitten into four pieces before being swallowed, a necropsy revealed.

The discovery of the shark marks a “significant new observation” for marine biologists, Towner says.

Killer whales, also known as orca, are known to target white sharks for their livers along South Africa’s Western Cape, but such kills have never been documented on the Eastern Cape, she said.

The whales can reach 11 tons and 32 feet in length, and “are considered an apex predator, eating at the top of the food web,” NOAA Fisheries reports.

A man living in South Africa’s Cefane region reported finding the shark at the Nyara River Mouth and the necropsy was performed May 29 with Towner supervising remotely.

In addition to the liver, the shark’s teeth were gone. However, it was determined trophy hunters had visited the beach the night before the necropsy and illegally pulled its teeth out, officials said.

What remained of the shark carcass was buried at a remote site — after researchers took tissue and muscle samples “for ongoing research on white shark genetics and diet.”

The discovery marks only the fourteenth time experts have confirmed a killer whale preyed on a great white shark off South Africa, she said.

One such attack involving a whale known as Orca Starboard was witnessed off South Africa’s Seal Island in June 2023, and it became the subject of a research paper published in March.

“In a remarkable time frame (less than 2 minutes!), Orca Starboard killed a white shark, and moments later, he surfaced near a tourist boat with the liver of the shark in his mouth!” Towner noted in a Facebook post.

“We didn’t realize that the solitary hunting of white sharks at this speed was possible until now, and it highlights the predatory proficiency of these incredible predators.”

This story was originally published June 3, 2024 at 4:53 AM with the headline "15-foot shark just ate 6-foot dolphin when something bigger got them both, team says."