Stunning footage captures moment shark has insides eaten out by gang of orcas

Ever since Jaws, great white sharks have been considered to be the most dangerous predators in the ocean and facts would suggest that to be true.

However, they appear to be no match for a gang of hungry orcas. At least that's what new viral footage suggests.

A drone video was shared by Alison Towner (filmed by Christiaan Stopforth), a lead White Shark Biologist for Marine Dynamics, which was shared online on Instagram and by The Daily Beast.

In the short video, which was captured in South Africa's Mossel Bay, we can see a shark which is visible bleeding while being circled by two orcas while a third orca feasts on the shark's underbelly.

Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Towner writes on the Instagram post, "Here is some of the footage of the recent white shark hunt by Orca. One of the most incredible pieces of natural history ever captured on film. We are looking forward to sharing the science behind this and the rest of the interaction soon, and trust me there is more!"

The footage was shared as part of the Discover networks Shark Week event and has since been viewed thousands of times on social media.

Speaking to Daily Beast, Towner who lives in South Africa, added: "It's probably one of the most beautiful pieces of natural history ever filmed. I really do think once that footage airs, it's going to go viral."

"We’ve had all the evidence for killer whales being responsible for killing white sharks. But this is the world's first drone footage of killer whales predating on a white shark. It's the first time in South Africa it's ever been documented as direct evidence."

You can learn more about Towner's research in her article in The African Journal of Marine Science.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.