It appears one of the most fear-inducing predators in the
ocean may have a fear of its own.
A new study led by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and
published Tuesday in Nature found great white
sharks leave their “preferred hunting ground” when orcas — also known as killer whales — enter it. In fact, researchers found the sharks won’t return to those areas for roughly a year — even if the orcas don’t stay that long.
To come to this conclusion, researchers “documented four encounters between the top predators at Southeast Farallon Island in the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary off San Francisco, California,” per the Monterey Bay Aquarium's
news release on the findings. The scientists then “analyzed the interactions using data from 165 white sharks tagged between 2006 and 2013, and compiled 27 years of seal, orca and shark surveys at the Farallones.”
More specifically, researchers determined when both sharks and orcas were present at the Farallon Islands by comparing data from the electronic shark tags with “field observations of orca sightings.”
The sharks fled the island when the orcas arrived — and did not return until the following season — in all of the cases studied. Data from the electronic tags even showed all the great white sharks left the area just minutes after orcas arrived. This was true even when the killer whales were present for less than an hour.
It's unclear why exactly the sharks leave. Researchers suspect it could be because the sharks are prey for the orcas, or possibly because they are bullied over food and ultimately forced out.
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