Killer whales kill great white shark off Eyre Peninsula
A fortnight ago a Tiger shark attacked a dolphin off Newcastle's Burswood Beach. The shark seperated the young dolphin from its pack and mauled it within sight of beachgoers and photographers.
On Monday a similar top-of-the-food chain fight occurred in South Australia giving cage diving tourists a rare sight. The tourists were diving near the Neptune Islands in South Australia when a family of six orca whales herded a great white shark and began to attack it by launching out of the water and slamming down on it.
Adventure Bay Charters operator Matt Waller described the rare event as “the title fight of all title fights”, with the great white shark, considered an apex predator, itself being preyed upon.
Writing on his website’s blog, Mr Waller described the shark’s grisly end:
“The water was a frenzy and the sounds in the aqua sub were close and clear. Then it stopped. There was no more shark fin, the water stilled with the subsided calmer movements of the pod of killers.
“A slick started to appear on the surface and slowly spread down wind slowly growing in size. The birds moved in to partake in the spoils and slowly the pod of killers moves away to the west from where they had come.”
Speaking to the ABC Waller said of the attack: "It was really weird, people were crying, people were laughing, people were swearing, they were at the height of emotion."
"I can only imagine if that's what we were seeing on the surface, that under the surface you had other whales which were working to try and keep this shark up.
"It never actually went down it stayed on the surface and was trying to get away."
Comments
bet that dude is bummed he didn't have his GoPro with him.
he would've been able to retire.
Wonder if there has ever been a fatal Orca attack on a human (not in a swimming pool).
Who knew there were orcas in Australia? Not me...
And the take home point from that article was the direction the pod were last see travelling - west. Feet up WA lads.
Yeah I'd heard of fairly recent sightings off Rottnest Island (within the last 12 months). Freaky.....
Yeah uncommon alright but a couple of experienced divers came across a pod off coffs a couple years ago and got in the water and filmed them....no worries ,experience of a lifetime.There on our side lol.
Stu
they are regular in WA waters, a guy Toddy from Esperance was doing research tagging them off (with cross bow and arrows!) Ningaloo waters couple of years ago, pretty sure its on-going research.
Toddy has been ramping up the study of the killers over the past couple of years, top bloke, hopefully we'll see the outcomes soon. A mate of mine occasionally skippers for him on their search missions and has had some pretty awesome encounters.
Scientists eh ? How would the average punter go firing crossbow bolts into large marine mammals in a marine protection zone fare with the authorities do you reckon ?
All authorised by Dep't Of Parks and Wildlife in WA, (I'm not saying it sounds gentle!)
Just read in our "reputable" Sunday Times pnline theres a new tourism phenom i.e. charted boats taking paying passengers out off the coast of Bremer Bay, WA where they are watching up to 30 killer whales in a daily feeding frenzy.
Saw Orcas off Lennox Point a winter or two ago Stu.
Confirmed sighting.
A pod of Killer Whales in Eden, Victoria used to alarm fishermen of approaching whales in the bay by slapping their tales on the water outside the fishers riverside homes. They would then lead the fishermen to the whales which they would harpoon and reward the Killers with the tongue.
http://www.killersofeden.com
There have been plenty of sightings around the Mornington Peninsula over the years. I took a photo of 2 Orcas cruising past Rye Back Beach last year
How do I post the photo?
Awesome would have loved to have seen it,lucky buggers.Amazing that this is a carbon copy of the Farallon islands attack a few years ago,makes you wonder if the orcas are putting on a show for us humans.
I've been in the water with them a few times in NZ, scary at first but you soon get used to them, their intelligence is apparent as opposed to sharks. I've literally looked straight into an orcas eyes from a few feet away.
Apparently Orca have worked out that if you flip a Great White they go limp and then the Orca tear them to bits, I'd be glad to have more Orca around in the waves. I saw something on tv a while back that one of the tagged great whites disappeared suddenly off WA or SA and they worked out it had been killed by Orca in the open Ocean. As Simba mentioned a GW was killed by Orca at the Farallon Islands and apparently every tagged GW that was there packed up and left that day.
I've watched them hunt stingrays in the harbour from my boat, we followed them for a couple of hours while they threw themselves onto shallow sand banks having a feed of rays. Was better than the surf I was on my way to have.
ah got em here in Vicco..seen a lot going to quarantine...and over the last few years have even had pods of Orcas in the bowl at Bells.........they seem to be supa intelligent and even when they are close ....they don't create angst like those other fins we see!!
the only recorded attacks on humans I think...are Orcas kept in Pools ..attack their keepers......there was one in the USA last year in front of a large crowd........just looked really pissed off.....plus I think they are one of the most intelligent creatures on the planet!!
http://www.pozible.com/project/176551
That's the one, man that would have been a painful dump for the Orca after carrying that thing around inside for a week.
Spare a thought for the seals...
skip to 1:08 or use the link
?t=1m8sBrutus - that's awesome! I'd still be paddling in though.
Orcas spotted on the gold coast every winter since 2011 apparently. There's an article on this somewhere on the net.
Personally I don't give a fuck how 'intelligent' orcas are, objects of my admiration aren't prefixed by 'killer' and can't take down great white sharks in a seaside rumble.
I'm a bit uneasy about these guys moving in.
I'm alright with it as long as they don't partake in their Dolphin cousins alleged gang rape habit....if big Mr black and white wants some there ain't gonna be a whole lot you could do to stop him.
they are called " killer " whales because quite literally they kill whales ......
They are not whales themselves which turn/are rogue and get called " killer " ....
Not quite sure what you meant by this southey, but yes, they kill whales.
But they are whales. My first thought was that you were saying they aren't actually whales, but now I realise your tortured syntax may not have been saying that.
But they are whales.
Did someone already say that? If so, apologies.
Seaman, you're nuts. I still get freaked that a fat dolphin is gunna bellyflop onto my back when they are getting frisked up in the water.
Haha yeah it is a little nerve wracking when you see a set of 4 inch pearly whites smiling at ya.
I've seen a few dolphins getting weird at Dbah on occasion, not sure where to look.
We all know that upclose their happy-go-lucky jumping and spinning tricks go hand in hand with their underwater circling and rubbing. It's like the whole pod get frisked up on the sardine oil and start losing their minds. Definitely a suspect group of animals once you been around them for a while, but we won't tell the touros that.
MAtes have seen em while fishing off Sydney Heads.
Look it up, back in whaling days there used to be a pod of orcas which used to help herd the whales in Twofold Bay for the whalers to harpoon em... the whalers would leave the herd the tongue or something for the orcs. Smart fukrs
I read about that too Mr. B, apparently the big male used to herd the whales into the whalers trap and then in return he was rewarded with the tongue. I also read further to that, that one day one of the fishermen witheld the tongue to tease him or some other stupid reason which enraged the big Orca.
From that point onwards the pod and the big male disappeared and never helped the whalers after that.
You'd have to be a bit of a dick to want to tease an Orca.
Orca's are from the Dolphin family . Sharks fish ......
Sharks hunt on scent & sight , Orcas have a sonar setup that is clearly more sophisticated than " old whitey's " .
I think you'd have to go back to " whaling " records top find statistics of Orca's attacking humans . And perhaps and only then , the initiation of " attack " might have been the Orcas' getting upset at us killing their big meal tickets . Whales .
I would be happier to see an Orca ( although the shear size would be unnerving ) , its obvious that the proliferation of whales is bringing back all sorts of " numbers " . Way more sharks for these guys to munch on too .
Killer whales attacking humpbacks off Exmouth. They appear to ram the whales first and then maul it later.
Cameraman won't pick up any pro work.
Anyone keen to fund a kickstarter to get Stu a chance to swim with the Orca?
Seriously, they are disturbingly smart...like creating waves to wash sea lions off small pieces of ice and educating their young while they are at it (if the "experts" in the video can be trusted):
Shaun? Morris? Now's yer chance...
Set the target for $100K, I get the spoils, and I say how long I'm in the water for.
Now that's intelligence.
They've been seen around Cape Schank on the Mornington Pen a bit too. My mates dad is an ab diver and has had them swimming around him
Cray fisherman off Beachport s.a. see them often, cont shelf is only about 11 miles offshore.
Goofy - do they worry about them at all? I struggle to believe they are human friendly.
yep down around wa also . not me just someone else always damnit
Not sure mate, id be pretty nervous though. They eat seals so that's enough for me to think if one was hungry enough it wouldn't think twice about nailing ya
yep, fudge that.
Heard about killer whales down here! Never seen them! Never want too either! There's a doco out there about these guys! Theres also ice heads chopping up people and recycling them too! Oh my!!
Cuple months back was surfing and a mama came past with bubs, they hung out on the inside section as they werent locals, they even have surf ettiquitte ! Seen them several times at this location over the years, close enough to spit on. Fuckin freaky but unless you are threatening bubs, mama will leave you be.
Seen them at Lake tyers beach in Vicco in the line up too.
I'll chuck in a lobster to see Stu swim nude with the Orcas.
They go up north too:
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/whale-watch/stranded-killer-whales-fin...
Sure do check the Aust waters orca distribution map ...even Cocos Keeling islands ..... and all the way to the Bukit.
There is an amazing Doco called "BlackFish" about orca's. Its about 1 Orca named Titikum who Sea-world have had on the books for years. Titikum has a bad rep for killing and maiming the trainers he works with. Turns out he is pretty good with the lady orca's, so Sea-world use him to sire most of the young orca's. The doco is pretty much how they used an orca with a really bad streak to sire all the young orca's which has had a dramatic effect on the amount of incidents/accidents happening in the pool. (most of the Titikum babies seem to have the bad streak)
It's also very damning on SeaWorld in how they try at all costs to cover up the incidents/accidents. If you thought keeping Orca's in Pools was bad now - watch the doco, you will seethe with rage.
One of the best and emotional Doco's I have ever seen and has some absolutely incredible footage of Orca's hunting Seals in the wild.
http://seaworldparks.com/en/corporatesites/truth/home/truth-about-blackf...
How gnarly was that scene where the Orca was drowning that guy?......that guy had nerves of fucking steel.
That was incredible, and when he tried to make a run for it at the end but couldn't because to orca had broken both of his ankles....
Lucky he could hold his breath....
Getting chills just thinking about it.
Fuck! That sounds heavy!
Not sure howd Id go though Sitting through that I can't really handle any footage of distressed or hurt animals. Makes me too angry
Yeah some dudes onto it that pod or what Eva group of killer whales hunt kill munch great whites! Some evidence of that obviously! They remind me of those Bra Boys!! Seek and devour!!
Is it true that Killer Whales are drawn to the gentle whistle of a kid learning to play harmonica? I saw a documentary once about this American foster child which seemed to suggest so.
Quite right Clivus. When little Walter began playing on the bayou in Louisiana they kept him clear of all natural bodies of water during the migration season.
Needless to say, he couldn't swim in the ocean, but could blow one hell of a shrunk down car radiator glued together with bits of wood.
That's certainly consistent with the delta blues parlance "whaling on this here harmonica". All this to say, its becoming increasingly difficult to deny the parallels between Little Walter and HC Gleeson.
Loving the double act Clivus/Micky.
Good work.
Join the pod, Blowin.
Rumor has it that's how HC came to land.
But undeniable parallels, Clivus. Undeniable parallels. What's even more astonishing is that both of those gentlemen are dead! Walter and Gleeson: they will live forever in the memories of those who are immortal and have astonishingly good recall.
MickyFanny, Blowin, have either of you given any thought to whether this could be an act of reprisal following the untimely (or perhaps timely, if you're a Copper Triangle baker) beaching of the Ardrossan 7?
And yet another poignant and serious issue you raise.
The beaching of the Ardrossan 7 is a mystery that remains shrouded in mystery. How did they get there? What prompted them to beach? What became of the carcasses? You can't seriously tell me they were transported to a hole in the ground (at a considerable cost to the community mind you). And you cant discount the fact that sales figures of local bakeries in the area tripled in about the time it takes to strip the carcass of a beached sperm whale, clean the offcuts and bake it into some sort of chefs weekly special.
But reprisal?....I wouldn't put it past the pod. As many a contributor to this forum has attested - through either experience, hypotheticals, common sense or general observation - they are smart animals, and smartness goes hand and hand with vengeful-ness. The black and white vigilantes of the sea. The perfect mix of yin and yang. Playful enough to hoist a trainer atop their snout, but possessing dark undertones akin to the hard-nosed brutish thuggery of a gestapo officer.
The proud they fall ... The proud they fall.
Don't mean to sound ike an ego tripper or a tool,
But I'd think I'd jump in with a wild pod...
Safer than the pointers I currently don't see...
*disclamainer- I am currently drunk.
You're probably better off being drunk when you jump in with the orcas, but it doesn't hurt to get a bit of practice in .
Mad Moth! You'd be like a dim sim!
There are two types of Orcas , migratory herds attack mammals as big as blue whales , and are generally more aggressive and opportunistic. . However herds that say in one area tend to only eat fish and are far more docile ( if there is such a thing , with carnivores ) ?!? Anyway most of the captivity orca's have been captured from , the mellower ?!? Non migratory herds .
It appears that old Tikal???? May have been a wolf dressed up as a lamb , ie: actually a migratory orca that was hangin with the docile crew . Or as they are finding out perhaps the descendant of one that found itself orphaned or whatever started hangin out with the dociles .
Either way I'm sure there is families out there that got way more of a " show " than they payed for at SeaWorld enclosures in the states ......
Interestingly the orcas do play with seals , but generally speaking it doesn't last too long . I think there is only one or two attacks in captivity where the trainer has been torn apart . You'd think you would of heard about attacks on humans in the wild if we were in the menu . Probably safe ... You'll be right stu .... We'll strap a go pro on ya , so if it does go pair shaped , Ben won't lose out on "future earnings " . Besides your ready to take one for the Swellnut team !.,,.,. ??
just put a locater on the go pro so we can retrieve it once it comes out the other end
It makes me laugh when a Orca kills its so called trainer! Putting a huge Mammal in a pond is sick! Call me crazy! Those suckos making money out of an intelligent creature is sick! free Willy! Go the munch!!
Hope they had a permit.
stabmag.com/killer-whale-clears-uluwatu-lineup-again/
remember this?
I've come to the conclusion they're everywhere
They do travel to the warmer waters to cook and shed the algae build up on there skin.
Here's a couple of pics I took of a dead Killer Whale which washed up on the beach at Johanna about 12 years ago. Someone had cut the jaw out and there was a pumping righthander directly out front.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bformwa7e82ulan/IMG_0923.JPG?dl=0
A few years back while cruising thru indo on our Boat We saw a big one cruising around the line up at nembrala.It hung around for a couple of days.big fin i mean BIG FIN sticking .out was mellow just swimming around.
There's a doco from Norway with world champ freediver Stig Åvall Severinsen called "Freediving with killer whales" which is pretty impressive. The guy figures he's not 'interacting' enough so he jumps straight in a school of fish theyre feeding on. nuts!
Couldnt find the full length clip, only this:
A few years back while cruising thru indo on our Boat We saw a big one cruising around the line up at nembrala.It hung around for a couple of days.big fin i mean BIG FIN sticking .out was mellow just swimming around.
My experience with Orcas...I was surfing Cathedrals off the end of Rotto and a pod of 20+ came through the lineup.
Was such a cool thing, just like hanging with dolphins but on their huge scale, which made it far more impressive...surfing waves, breaching and even one mother showing her calf to me, or me to her calf.
Intially it was a bit of a freak out but I had read that no human attacks had been recorded in the wild so that put me at ease.
Their eyes are what I remember most, so much intelligence and understanding looking back at me, one of my life highlights so far.
Must have been a while ago .. Word i've heard is that in the last few years Sea Lions have taken back that channel . Is one dodgy area , that spot is atleast close to shore others not so . Up until the 60's -70's the area was a partial seal colony , not sure if Pro fishers changed that ? But they left , and then in the late eightees a large fishing boat was shipwrecked right in that channel , with a freezer full of fresh fish . Needless to say it didn't get surfed for a long time .... 2005 they buried a pygmy ( was 25M + ) blue whale in sand dunes at narrowneck , and since then all sorts of bigger creatures have been hangin' around , perhaps as the oils seep out ..... I presume they were either following the whites that have been around following the seals return or perhaps the whites are sniffin' that out and Orca's are ready to eat all the above .
My encounter was in 1998. There were a few sealions in the area at this stage but no where near as many as now.
Was an attack on a surfer by one in 1972 in California......bloke got bitten on leg..Orca let go,mistaken identity they think....he copped 100 stiches.
They say if attacked ..no eye gouging GWS style....just ram your fist into its blowhole !
If you can reach the blowhole!! The Orca looks like it's on another level re power. Awesome creatures...
I think to answer everyone's questions we need to ask ourselves; Are they black with white spots, or white with black spots???
I read that very recently up to 30 killer whales (various family groups) have returned to the Bremer "Hot Spot". Apparently a crew of scientists are deploying deep water recording devices to further study this area of major intrigue (not just Orca but a variety of marine life). Local film maker David Riggs who apparently discovered this area is documenting this zone.
Also see www.bremercanyon.com
Leading up to monday when this event occurred there had been a consistent number of sharks sighted on the shark dive tours. It would be interesting to know if the sharks are still around or have scattered because of the orca attack. The 3 days following were no tour days so theres no info on their website yet.
http://www.sharkcagediving.com.au/shark-tours/shark-sightings-2/
I think it was on another forum discussion about sharks vacating or avoiding areas a shark had been killed.
Also if these sharks have dispersed then assuming they were tagged by the shark dive operators can we see the info of where they have headed? Stu do you have any contacts that might have the info?
I guy named Ross was surfing at Flinders, saw an Orca and did a poo in his wetsuit.
check this story from 2009 over west, pretty cool.....
http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2009/12/17/2774785.htm?site=eyre
Looks like all the sharks have left the area. Dive operator reported no shark sightings friday, saturday and sunday following the killer whale attack. The last time there were no shark sightings was April 2014 and according to the records there has been consistently around 7 sharks there until this incident and now none! Feet up at the moment i think!
http://www.sharkcagediving.com.au/shark-tours/shark-sightings-2/
...but ...but ...it's the shark's world...