This is a light weight question and I’m more interested in feedback, but I was talking to a guy who’s a big fan of the great white shark (I think he thinks Jaws II was factual). I made the argument that the killer whale ate just about anything it wanted, and it could kill anything that swam in the ocean-great white shark included. (Sperm whales, the largest carnivores known, have been found in the killer whale’s stomachs).
“No way!” was this guy’s response.
I remember seeing video of an orca killing a great white, which I think was shot off California. The shark might have been a juvenile, but it didn’t last long against the orca. I’m wondering whether the orca killed the shark as prey or to get rid of it as competition–since they both feed on the pinnepeds that live on the California.coast.
In a ‘head to head duel’ so to speak, I think that a killer whale, which is more massive, warm-blooded (and therefore capable of generating more muscular power), and intelligent, would ‘win’ easily.
Anybody got some thoughts or knowledge as to how these apex predators interact? Would killer whales feed on great whites-since they do feed on other shark species?
And, I realize Humans are the ultimate apex predator wherever we hunt-the sea included.
Aren’t blue whales the largest carnivores?
I don’t think that orcas actually hunt sharks. It’d be my guess that sharks, being foolish, attack whales and then face the consequences.
Killer whales travel in pods, which gives them a large advantage over solitary hunters, like sharks. Orcas just keep ramming the shark until it’s dead, then eat.
Given their sandpapery skin and cartilage, shark might not be the best eating for whales used to seals and sea lions.
I don’t think your largest sea predators do commonly interact. Orcas are most common in cooler waters extending up towards the arctic, sharks favor warmer waters, and sperm whales stay deep enough poking around for squids and the like that most of the time that their hunting doesn’t overlap with the others.
I’m assuming the sperm whale eaten by the orca was a rather young one or else already wounded or ill. An adult orca attacking an adult sperm whale is like a hyena deciding to take down an rhino. In any event, the sperm whale can dive far far deeper than the orca so there’s no reason for it to stick around and be eaten.
And the largest known predator is the plankton eating blue whale. Plankton are still animals with (albeit crude) sensory and motor systems.
“I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”
There’s pro’lly more sharks that eat whales than the other way round.More CHUNKS of sperm whale in white shark than in Orca. You’re talking more of a head to head combat ,Orca VS Whitey Saturday Nite! I dunno, but my money is on Whitey, sheer speed and mobility. But as predators whales are more specific. (Specially the sperm whale.)Whitey will go for anything.And his method of attack is stealth. Course just because of their size they both go for seals. How about a tag-team? We could suround the ring with nets ( dolphin safe of course) “In this cornah, representing the warm blooded mammals and intellegence… a whale of a combination, Monstro and Willy! In this cornah,representing cold blooded single purposness and mechanical,unthinking, unfeeling malevelance,the Boneless Baddies!With his winning toothsome smile Whitey Charcaradon! And the arm wrestling champeen of the seven seas,that moluscular mass of muscle,Giganto Squid! Your reffohree for this match,or at least untill one of the cahhmpeetitors gets hungry…Charlie the Tuna!”
“Pardon me while I have a strange interlude.”-Marx
There’s pro’lly more sharks that eat whales than the other way round.More CHUNKS of sperm whale in white shark than in Orca. You’re talking more of a head to head combat ,Orca VS Whitey Saturday Nite! I dunno, but my money is on Whitey, sheer speed and mobility. But as predators whales are more specific. (Specially the sperm whale.)Whitey will go for anything.And his method of attack is stealth. Course just because of their size they both go for seals. How about a tag-team? We could suround the ring with nets ( dolphin safe of course) “In this cornah, representing the warm blooded mammals and intellegence… a whale of a combination, Monstro and Willy! In this cornah,representing cold blooded single purposness and mechanical,unthinking, unfeeling malevelance,the Boneless Baddies!With his winning toothsome smile Whitey Charcaradon! And the arm wrestling champeen of the seven seas,that moluscular mass of muscle,Giganto Squid! Your reffohree for this match,or at least untill one of the cahhmpeetitors gets hungry…Charlie the Tuna!”
“Pardon me while I have a strange interlude.”-Marx
It’s my understanding that, 5th grade level science books called Real Monsters of the Deep aside, sperm whales don’t grapple with squids – they eat them.
“I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”
The squid don’t want to go quietly into the night. From what I’ve seen on nature shows, sperm whales and squid have epic battles.
Jophiel, most large predator contact probably occurs in the southern hemisphere. I’m pretty sure that both Great Whites and Orcas live in the area around Patagonia.
Lawmill–
Blue whales might be carnivores in the sense that they eat zooplankton and shrimp or krill so to speak, but they are baleen whales and do not actively hunt their prey so to speak. I mean they engulf the plankton that is available [grazers in the oceanic sense might be more appropriate] and do not select individual organisms as food items.
Jopheil-I see your point, but killer whales are social animals and do attack in packs. Even the hyena brings down the old lion. But I’ve also seen film where a pod of orcas chew the flukes off a blue whale. I’m wondering whether this was akin to a bunch of hooligans causing trouble or a pack of wolves feeding. In the case of the film segment, the orcas let the blue whale go, albeit without it’s fins. Did they eat their fill?
I don’t know the facts that resulted in the sperm whale remains ending up in the stomachs of the orcas. Maybe it was a diseased or young whale. It seems likely this is the case. Predators prey on the weak.
But if a pod of orcas can attack a single blue whale, a smaller sperm whale seems a just as likely target.
And if a pod of orcas will attack a sperm whale, what chance does a dim-witted great white have?
Sperm whales have a mass of about 60 tons, the giant squid at most 2 tons. No contest or battle between them exists, the whale gets lunch every time!
I believe that the ilm clip that 647 refers to was shot off the Faralon (sp?) Islands, which are around San Fransisco. If I remember correctly, the Great White attacked the Orca’s baby, and the Orca tore the Great White apart.
The facts, although interesting, are irrelevent.
I’m pretty sure that the Farallon islands are pretty far south of San Francisco, although I might be wrong.
I live in the bay area. Great White Shark sightings and attacks are common, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen or heard of an Orca along the coast.
http://cnn.com/EARTH/9710/08/whale.vs.shark/
(Includes a blurry film clip of the attack.)
Actually, if you head due West from the Golden Gate Bridge you’d have a hard time missing them. They’re technically part of Marin County.
Catalina, Farallon, Angel, it’s all the same.