Naturalists have captured the spectacular moment a fearsome blue shark received the shock of its life when five killer whales lunged at it in waters off California.
The predator hastily retreated from the group of five dubbed “Louise’s family” by scientists after it began stalking the waters off the coast of Monterey.
It came less than a month after a killer whale was first seen killing and devouring a great white shark, amid reports of increasingly aggressive behavior from the species towards humans and other animals.
And the 10-foot shark had no doubt about its place in the pecking order as the mighty whales turned to assess it.
“They didn’t touch it or eat it,” the Monterey Bay Whale Watch enthusiastically reported, “What a rare and lucky encounter today between two unique species!”
The blue shark was sailing in California’s Monterey Sea when it saw a pod of five killer whales a few meters away and was quickly approaching.
The shark quickly turned around and fled as the whales, nicknamed Louise’s family, turned to take a closer look.
The basket resumed its journey, erasing the surface of the sea to the great pleasure of the naturalists who followed it
Scientists are questioning the whales’ new assertiveness after at least five boats were sunk in a series of attacks since 2020.
A British couple were subjected to a terrifying 90-minute assault by six of the creatures aboard their cruising yacht off the coast of Gibraltar in May last year.
“We were easy targets,” Janet Morris said.
“A significantly larger matriarch was definitely there and almost watching over,” her husband Stephen said.
“I kept reminding myself we had a 22-ton steel boat, but seeing three coming at the same time, fast and in rhythm with their fins out of the water, it was intimidating.”
Investigators concluded the assault was carried out by a whale nicknamed “White Gladis” which had trained other whales to attack boats after being traumatized in a “critical moment of agony” when it collided with a ship or was trapped in fishing nets.
Two days later, another yacht was sunk nearby in an attack by a group consisting of an adult and two juveniles.
For the first time, a killer whale was seen individually killing and consuming a great white shark – just two minutes off the coast of South Africa last month.
During interactions observed during this event, at least two white sharks were killed, as evidenced by the discovery of a second carcass measuring 3.55 meters (11.6 feet) nearby.
Janet Morris and Stephen Bidwell were on a yacht in Gibraltar this month when they were subjected to a terrifying 90-minute attack by a pod of killer whales.
The attack damaged the couple’s 22-ton steel boat and returned it to port rudderless.
“The small ones shook the rudder at the stern while the large one backed up several times and slammed into the ship with all its force from the side,” said Captain Werner Schaufelberger.
“The two smaller orcas observed the technique of the larger one and, with a slight momentum, they too crashed into the boat.”
Monika Wieland Shields, of the Orca Behavior Institute in Washington, said several hundred incidents had been reported around the world since the attacks began.
“So many people have come here to where I am in Washington state this year, and they’re wondering, ‘Is it safe to watch whales here?’ How big is the boat we are going on? Is there a chance that whales will attack this boat? she said BNC in December.
In September 2022, Spanish authorities banned ships from sailing from the northwest tip due to a surge in attacks, and two killer whales, nicknamed Port and Starboard, developed a taste for great white sharks.
At least eight great whites have washed up on South African beaches since 2017 after their nutrient-rich livers were ripped out by the apex predators.
Killer whales typically eat seals or even dolphins, but last month Starboard became the first of its species known to have killed and eaten a Great White on its own.
“Starboard was observed preying on a juvenile 2.5 meter (8.2 foot) white shark, then carrying the shark’s liver in its mouth in front of a boat,” said Dr Alison Towner of the Rhodes University.
Killer whales can grow up to 32 feet and weigh more than 12,000 pounds and live up to 90 years.
About 200 individuals live off the coast of California and sightings are most common in April and May.
But scientists have played down claims that these creatures are becoming more aggressive towards humans, insisting that their attacks on boats should be seen as “playful social behavior” and not “revenge” for mistreatment.
“Killer whales just want to have fun,” said Robert Pitman of the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University.
“They are not afraid of boats and there is nothing to eat there.
“They are intelligent, social animals, and they live in what I think is probably an under-stimulating environment for their mental abilities.”
“Revenge is not a useful thing in nature. It’s not adaptive at all – unless you’re human, I suppose.