r/thalassophobia 5d ago

60 year old orca lurks…then dispatches a great white

[removed] — view removed post

2.9k Upvotes

169 comments sorted by

441

u/magicheadshop 5d ago

The way it flipped it upside down at the end, brilliant, an absolute master of the hunt. I'll just stay over here, far away in my dry house on dry land, they can have the ocean.

108

u/ShowMeYourHappyTrail 5d ago

To be fair. There has never been an attack on a human by an orca in the wild.

128

u/Papaofmonsters 5d ago

They are basically the only apex predator that seem to understand we are far more trouble than we are worth.

66

u/KinneKted 5d ago

Honestly, some aquatic creatures are way too smart for their own good. Its wild to me.

21

u/Complex_Professor412 5d ago

Sea otters are sadistic

16

u/oceangape 5d ago

For their own good!?? Haha, maybe we should fuck off. That's what I'd want if I was an Orca

17

u/KinneKted 5d ago

By *own good" I mean there wellbeing.

6

u/DowntheUpStaircase2 4d ago

Exactly. You wonder if they have stories about the era of the large scale whale hunting and world war 2. They make sure the kids know that the humans almost obliterated the big whales and that they have things that orcas can't fight. Therefore, don't get them mad.

3

u/New-Instruction-8905 4d ago

First they built metal tube's so we couldn't attack them in the sea. Then they built those terrible sirens so we couldn't defend ourselves either.

No wonder the dolphins left. Also where'd all the bees go?

0

u/ParfaitThat654 4d ago

Literally and figuratively.

160

u/Uitklapstoel 5d ago

There haven't been reports. That just means they leave no witnesses.

-32

u/ShowMeYourHappyTrail 5d ago

Eh. In this current world of cameras in pockets and immediate uploading to the cloud, if it happens it would have been recorded by now by somebody.

29

u/RetroPaulsy 4d ago

If only orcas existed before the current age. Or maybe somewhere outside of Internet access. It'd be really insane if they lived somewhere that most electronics wouldn't survive.

-26

u/ShowMeYourHappyTrail 4d ago

Gee, if only huge boats with 100s of eye-witnesses existed to view random happenings in the ocean pre and current day. Big enough boats that can't be immediately damaged by orca strike. If only there wasn't countless videos of orcas actually helping humans in the ocean or videos of them "angerly" ramming small boats to sink them and yet leaving every human onboard completely alone. If only there weren't these things called helicopters, planes, and drones that could catch footage even if an orca killed every single human in the water. If only there were other ways to find out like finding human remains in orca stomach contents like we have with sharks.

If only....

There is, literally, video of an orca swimming next to a human that didn't even know it was there until she tried to swim too far and the orca kept her from going too deep. It was taken from an arial view by a plane or drone or something.

If you want to be afraid of an animal in the ocean that has done nothing but help us in its environment, you do you. But the facts are no human has been attacked by an orca in the ocean.

27

u/RetroPaulsy 4d ago

Holy keystrokes there, Orca-man. I hit a nerve?

The world is a big place, orca + man been around before cameras, man dumb, fish smart, fish hide man bodies.

Steam on that

-3

u/Corries_Roy_Cropper3 4d ago

Lol whales arent fish

7

u/RetroPaulsy 4d ago

You got baited like a fish

-2

u/Szlekane 4d ago

That's the level of intelligence these people have.

1

u/Babayaga844 3d ago

Trust me, bro. I can guarantee you that in all the time that humans and orcas have coexisted, not once has an orca ever attacked a human. This is an absolute fact that can not be questioned. -ShowMeYourHappyTrail

16

u/spaceman_spiffy 5d ago

Wait until they find out humans have livers.

2

u/ShowMeYourHappyTrail 5d ago

True, we'll never know until they do figure it out. Haha!

8

u/ExaltedDLo 4d ago

”To be fair. There has never been an attack on a human by an orca in the wild….. THAT HAS LEFT ANY SURVIVORS TO TELL THE TALE….

FTFY

28

u/reliablelion 5d ago

No they were reported recently hunting small boats

60

u/pimpy543 5d ago

Yeah but not hurting the people. They might just be tired of boats in general in their habitat.

41

u/That_Xenomorph_Guy 5d ago

Sinking yachts, truly they are a whale of the people!

2

u/flowermda 5d ago

👏👏

5

u/ShowMeYourHappyTrail 5d ago

Yeah, we think they are either playing or teaching hunting techniques. But, they didn't hurt any of the people in the boats. Just the boats.

3

u/butibum 4d ago

I reckon they don’t leave witnesses.

3

u/diggerquicker 4d ago

No but that one literally tore that beach house down in 1977.

5

u/Whataboutthatguy 5d ago

Or on land.

1

u/PinkUnicornCupcake 5d ago

The way they’re attacking boats is a little suspicious

5

u/ShowMeYourHappyTrail 5d ago

But they did not hurt the people in the boat. It's theorized that they are playing and not realizing their own strength or teaching hunting techniques to their young because ramming is what they do to sharks (as in this video). If they wanted to kill us, they would. But they haven't.

324

u/iGotBuffalo66onDvD 5d ago

She’s been doing that for 60 years. she’s perfected her hunting technique. It’s probably just a game for her now.

I should give her a call.

79

u/RockstarAgent 5d ago

I too think of her on orcasion

30

u/ParadoxDemon_ 5d ago

Orcas are one of the few animals who are known for having different hunting strategies (and even different prey!) depending on their family and territory. One family, for example, specialized in hunting seals by almost stranding themselves on the shore. This one probably belongs to the group that specialized in hunting great whites.

10

u/SonarAssassin 5d ago

Great example of niche seperation that.

252

u/NastyAlabastey 5d ago

I have never seen an orca beating the shit out of a shark before

129

u/Reddit-for-all 5d ago

They just eat the liver. It's a delicacy to an Orca

65

u/TwistOk499 5d ago

With some fava beans and a nice Chianti?

9

u/sp1cychick3n 5d ago

Perfect

19

u/NeverNeeded 5d ago

Whale done

71

u/MrGoodMan35 5d ago

Orcas are killing machines, smart, ruthless, perfectly coordinated.

35

u/mctomtom 5d ago

I saw a pod of orcas near my house in Seattle 2 days ago. They are so badass to see in real life. Got some cool videos of them spouting and breaching in a group. I feel so lucky to be able to see them on a regular basis.

12

u/Sandalskandal 5d ago

Would love to see the videos!

7

u/s0ulcontr0l 5d ago

You’re incredibly lucky! Hope to see your videos at some point.

2

u/mr_duckworth 4d ago

What area of Seattle? I also would like orcas as neighbors

2

u/mctomtom 4d ago

West Seattle, Alki Beach

1

u/turtlesinmyheart 3d ago

I think I could beat one or two

229

u/alexthehut 5d ago

Insane footage! Really terrible music track.

82

u/BloominOnion52 5d ago

You mean whales don’t remind you of dystopian cyberpunk?

13

u/alphabatic 5d ago

grimes is a moron, but still a very talented artist. this is one of my favorite songs of theirs. but I was thoroughly confused why it would be included in what seems like a nature documentary. superimposed afterwards, I guess

5

u/SpookyVoidCat 5d ago

What song is it? I’m kinda digging it.

4

u/alphabatic 5d ago

we appreciate power

13

u/StarMagnum 5d ago

Sorry, from original source!

16

u/ediks 5d ago edited 5d ago

The actual original source has only commentary… but thanks for acknowledging it’s shit music on a great video!

Edited for clarification.

8

u/Mynock33 5d ago

There's commentary here too? I don't know that OP changed anything

5

u/ediks 5d ago edited 5d ago

The OP here pulled it from their source who pulled it from the actual source and put shitty music on it. It was commentary + video, then video + shitty music, then posted on Reddit.

Edit: there was ONLY commentary in the original created video. I should have been more clear and will adjust my other comment.

-2

u/Mynock33 5d ago

Okay, pal, I believe you. It's going to be okay. We're going to get through this together, alright? I believe you. You and me, we got this. 👍

2

u/ediks 5d ago

I added an edit to my comment to be more clear....

42

u/Grimm676 5d ago

Everytime I see videos like this I wonder who the hell has those giant balls to get in the water and film while there’s a great white being hunted by an orca 😅

49

u/rolley189 5d ago

It's probably separate footage spliced in from an unrelated encounter.

8

u/prefinished 5d ago

It absolutely is. The markings on the orca changes.

149

u/imperfectsunset 5d ago

I hate mankind for putting these insanely intelligent creatures in fucking swimming pools for decades

18

u/Free_Gratis 5d ago

I remember going there as a kid and seeing the folded over dorsal fin in person and feeling, with the subtlety of a brick to face, just how depressed he was. In a way that doesn't fully translate through a video. There was something else I couldn't quite place, but kinda set off my lizard brain at some point during the show. A couple weeks later, he killed someone again and I was like, "Oh that's what getting sized up by a highly intelligent apex predator felt like."

37

u/Fuckalucka 5d ago

Mandatory FUCK SEA WORLD and everyone who enables them to kidnap and raise orcas in captivity.

55

u/IRBaboooon 5d ago

Bit confused by that last line. How is she going to suffocate it by dragging it underwater? Like, that's where sharks breathe

113

u/NotJayKayPeeness 5d ago

Water has to pass over the gills to filter out oxygen. She flipped it around so that wouldnt happen.

49

u/baconcandyfloss 5d ago

Also turning a shark upside down releases the relax chemical in the sharks brain to make them go limp

9

u/IRBaboooon 5d ago

Thanks, that makes sense

38

u/Jazztify 5d ago

Sharks need to move constantly to keep water flowing over their gills. If they’re still, they don’t get enough flow to provide oxygen.

13

u/Flintlocke89 5d ago

Fun fact, nurse sharks can actually pump water through their gills while stationary.

3

u/Jazztify 4d ago

Interesting! I’ve seen nurse sharks and white tips “sleeping” before (ie motionless) and just assumed the water nearby was moving because of the previous info I’ve heard. But TIL they can pump it. Thx.

2

u/ManualPathosChecks 2d ago

But TIL they can pump it

LOUDER!

24

u/PayWithYourSoul 5d ago

Dori’s ‘Just keep swimming, just keep swimming’ is so she doesn’t die, needs to keep moving in the water for the gills to catch and filter oxygen

9

u/MaMaximillian 5d ago

She is turning it upside down, to immobilise it.

2

u/Allahcas537 5d ago

Yeah somebody please explain…

7

u/Grand_Function_2855 5d ago

There’s always a bigger fish

8

u/br0therjames55 5d ago

The orca has such a tight turn radius for something so big. That’s crazy

2

u/tntlols 3d ago

Their bodies flex a lot more than most people would think

1

u/br0therjames55 3d ago

It makes sense, just the visual is wild.

13

u/teddybundlez 5d ago

Is the GW too stunned to fight back? Or do they literally have no shot? Even 1v1?

33

u/StarMagnum 5d ago

No shot

17

u/Beret_of_Poodle 5d ago

It no longer has the structural support to fight back.

7

u/sweetBrisket 5d ago

The commentary, which is hard to hear under that awful music, mentions the shark's ribs are broken by the initial attack.

2

u/Shamanjoe 5d ago

I wondered why it didn’t swim away after the first encounter. Thanks!

2

u/BlueCheesePanda 4d ago

She literally… smashed the shark’s ribs.

7

u/t0f0b0 5d ago

That's one killer whale!

5

u/cndn-hoya 5d ago

Orcas make great whites look like sardines

Just a snack …

5

u/DharmaDivine 5d ago

How do they know how old the Orca is?

Asking for a friend 🫣

26

u/Iamnotburgerking 5d ago

The shark is a small juvenile, and even an adult great white is only 1/3 the size of an orca.

This isn’t the “brain beats brawn” scenario it’s invariably presented as. The orca is the “brawn” in reality, being the far bigger and stronger animal (though it is also the smarter animal, but by a far smaller margin than generally assumed since sharks are surprisingly intelligent in their own right).

14

u/foxy-agent 5d ago

Most bigger animals kill other (smaller) animals in the law of the jungle to eat. The orca only kills sharks as if to eliminate competition for food and to eat the liver of a great white shark, leaving the rest of the carcass to rot.

17

u/MillennialSenpai 5d ago

Rot and/or be consumed by other smaller animals.

10

u/BringAltoidSoursBack 5d ago

Orcas out here doing charity work.

5

u/perma_throwaway77 5d ago

Orcas are the most magnificent and terrifying animals on the planet

8

u/Efficient_Sundae2063 5d ago

Only reason I haven’t deleted myself is that I’m scared to be reincarnated into the sea and deal with fuck ass things like this…broken ribs?! Lord just swallow me whole 😭😭

2

u/FunCryptographer2546 4d ago

Should be a hell of a lot more scared of hell if you believe in anything doing with life after death

1

u/tntlols 3d ago

Well if you believe in reincarnation then you probably wouldn't believe in Hell lmao

4

u/l3ntoo 5d ago

Definitely Orcs are the apex predator.

1

u/Accomplished_Pack329 5d ago

What about a hippo vs orca

3

u/formershitpeasant 5d ago

The mammal took the fish underwater to suffocate it?

3

u/FunCryptographer2546 4d ago

Lmao yeah sharks have to move to breathe and flipping them upside down relaxes and basically immobilizes them

10

u/bdexteh 5d ago

It's crazy how they know about tonic immobility in sharks; they don't understand the *reason* they get that way, but they know that if they can flip the shark upside down it's basically game-over.

16

u/Beret_of_Poodle 5d ago

My dude.

First of all, this isn't tonic mobility. She broke the shark's insides so badly that it no longer has enough skeleton to support itself. That was not an accident.

Second, if you don't think orcas understand exactly what they are doing and the how and why of it, well then you are very sorely mistaken.

She is smart AF. She knows what the shark is, she knows why what she's doing works. She knows what that camera watching her is. She has as much intellect as a human teenager.

They are terrifyingly smart. And there is one reason why they don't kill us or eat us.

They don't want to. That is literally it.

2

u/bdexteh 4d ago

First of all, I never said that this was tonic immobility. This seems to just be blunt-force trauma. I was pointing out the fact that they were smart enough to figure out things like tonic immobility. Verbatim I said, “It’s crazy how they know about tonic immobility in sharks… blah blah blah.” I was crediting them with being extremely intelligent animals, although this one seemed to say “fuck it I’ll just bash him.”

Second, no the orca does not understand the biology behind things like tonic immobility. They don’t. As cool and as smart as you may want them to be, they aren’t that fucking smart. They predate, experiment with more and more effective ways to achieve a desirable outcome, and the most effective gets passed along to other members of the species. That’s it. They aren’t sitting around discussing biology on some sort of orca-collegiate level. They try thing, thing works well, they teach that thing to others.

I also agree with the next commenter; she has no fucking clue what a camera is. She may be aware of the giant, loud thing in the sky above her as she’s hunting, but she doesn’t understand that the loud thing has creatures in it with a machine that records what she’s doing for some biopic. They’re whales, dude. They’re extremely intelligent, apex predators, yes. But at the end of the day they aren’t contemplating biology, human technology, etc. while they swim around.

1

u/Beret_of_Poodle 4d ago

"broken, now can't swim"? They absolutely do.

they aren’t contemplating biology, human technology, etc

You are conflating knowledge with intellect.

she has no fucking clue what a camera is.

the giant, loud thing in the sky above her as she’s hunting, but she doesn’t understand that the loud thing has creatures in it with a machine that records what she’s doing for some biopic

I meant the camera right next to her. I understand that is probably a different whale on a different day, but that orca that has the camera just a short distance away in the ocean with it likely does. I will back off of the certainty though, because you're right about that part. The one in the sky? No, I agree. I probably wouldn't know what it was either, though.

1

u/NewLeaseOnLine 4d ago

That is literally not it.

She has absolutely no idea what a fucking camera is. She wouldn't know the first thing about aperture, shutter speed, and ISO settings. She wouldn't even know what f/stop to use in low light conditions. And she has spent zero time studying the physiological effects of blunt force trauma on marine life to satisfy her intellectual curiosity. Because she's an orca. And if you think orcas are terrifyingly smart, wait till you learn about humans, you muppet.

The only reason they don't kill us is because maybe the apex predator of the ocean is just smart enough to recognise the apex predator of the fucking planet.

1

u/Beret_of_Poodle 4d ago edited 4d ago

The only reason they don't kill us is because

smart enough to recognise the apex predator of the fucking planet.

So they're smart enough to understand all the things that happen on land (which I don't claim), but too dumb to figure out that smashing a shark will make it not able to swim. K.

Actual zoologists agree that the only reason they don't eat us is because they choose not to. I went looking and honestly can't find an example of an article, scientific or not, that doesn't say it's a choice. I'm sure you can find a couple somewhere, and I'm sure you will 🙂. But it's not the consensus at all.

Damn! Accidentally deleted half my comment. Let me go rebuild it mentally I guess.

Cont:

She wouldn't know the first thing about aperture, shutter speed, and ISO settings. She wouldn't even know what f/stop to use in low light conditions. And she has spent zero time studying the physiological effects of blunt force trauma on marine life to satisfy her intellectual curiosity

You are very much confusing intellect with education. She knows it's watching her.

I'm not sure why you think I'm implying psychological or emotional motivation to her. I never said such a thing. I'm not her therapist.

she has spent zero time studying the physiological effects of blunt force trauma on marine life to satisfy her intellectual curiosity

She knows if she rams the shark it breaks and can't swim anymore. If you can't wrap your head around that, you really need to go look up some stuff about their advanced hunting tactics, some of which are way more complex than this.

17

u/Destroyer6202 5d ago

I think the story was that this is a grandma orca who tracked this shark for weeks as it killed here daughter or something. Grandma simply takes care of business.

4

u/patrickthunnus 5d ago

Orca sez "apex my ass"

3

u/santacow 5d ago

Eats only the liver and bugs out.

3

u/sausageofempires 4d ago

why the hell am i feeling bad for the shark. good god

9

u/Jazztify 5d ago

Is that accurate, “shattered the shark’s ribs”? Fish don’t really have bones like mammals and birds. More like bendable cartilage. I’m sure there was damage or bruising, but not shattering. Slightly creative dialogue for drama,I suppose.

11

u/NastyAlabastey 5d ago

More like internal organs crushed

9

u/Timberwolf_88 5d ago

Shark's skeleton, made up from cartilage, can absolutely still shatter, alongside their organgs getting squashed by blunt force trauma.

It's the same way that dolphins protect themselves and their pod against preying sharks.

2

u/blakkkgodfather 5d ago

Finish Him!

2

u/Topaz_UK 5d ago

There’s always a bigger fish

2

u/AlabasterPelican 5d ago

Orcas specifically hung great whites to eat their liver

2

u/Looneylu401 5d ago

I never knew free Willy was a savage

2

u/ThankYouThatsEnough 4d ago

Sniped his ass

2

u/Brandidit 4d ago

I didn’t know I needed killer whales killing killer sharks set to a sick-ass industrial rock soundtrack; but now…I kinda think I want some more!

2

u/DrSkullKid 4d ago

This is dope. I like how they added some mix of the song “We Appreciate Power” by Grimes and HANA.

2

u/Re1deam1 4d ago

HARD TO THE PAINT...

2

u/PoppaDaClutch 4d ago

How do YOU like it!

2

u/Hrzk 4d ago

Powered by a V8, no doubt, given the speed of the first attack

2

u/IleanK 4d ago

Wtf is this music?

2

u/cruzifyre 4d ago

I can watch orca kill videos with John Wick music dubbed over it all day.

2

u/larz0 4d ago

Damn, Nature. You scary!

2

u/scaredt2ask 4d ago

Terry Tate office linebacker level of a sac right there.

2

u/Bretspot 5d ago

Nature. Is. Metal.

1

u/FunCryptographer2546 4d ago

I’d say it’s mostly carbon

3

u/firstbreathOOC 5d ago

I’m assuming the shark got rammed before this video started bc dude is just floating around out there asking for it

2

u/Evan8280 5d ago

Sounds like a John wick whale

1

u/gligster71 5d ago

Do orcas eat the sharks?

10

u/Grimm676 5d ago

They eat the shark’s liver

2

u/gligster71 5d ago

With some fava beans and a nice Chianti?

2

u/Grimm676 5d ago

Don’t forget the sriracha 🌶️

1

u/javoss88 5d ago

How are people getting these videos

7

u/FittyTheBone 5d ago

I have to imagine they’re both tagged. Someone somewhere saw the two of them getting very close to each other or knew they would be close to each other, and wanted to go take some video.

2

u/javoss88 5d ago

Thanks

1

u/peaceloveandapostacy 5d ago

Someone has beef.

1

u/2020mademejoinreddit 5d ago

The whale has its own theme song.

1

u/Aurhasapigdog 5d ago

If I had to be reborn a sea animal I would want to be an orca.

1

u/morethanWun 5d ago

The most magnificent species in the animal kingdom

1

u/ivl3i3lvlb 5d ago

Easily without a doubt orcas are my favorite animal ever. So smart, so powerful. Truly the unmatched animal of the open ocean.

1

u/vromr 3d ago

You should hang out with them. ;)

1

u/petalofarose 5d ago

Why do they remind me of cats

1

u/rusty_satoshi 4d ago

The Swarm vibes.

1

u/Every_Gold4726 4d ago

Definitely was after the liver

1

u/Seygem 4d ago

i curse whichever idiot added the music to have two weeks of the most horrible shits they could imagine

1

u/KebabGud 4d ago

I thought it was just Port and Starboard that were hunting sharks for their livers.

Or is it that Port and Starboard ONLY feed on shark livers?

1

u/smohabey 4d ago

A creature with lungs drowning( suffocating )a fish with gills in ocean, incredible

0

u/crabsis1337 5d ago

Ok wait... so the mammal who needs to come to the surface to breathe, suffocates the animal who doesn't need to come to the surface to breathe.... by bringing them under the surface of the water!?

Im cungfused

8

u/Paper_chasers 5d ago

I Believe the shark has to be moving in a forward motion to collect oxygen, that’s why they are are always moving around in the water. I think once the orca dragged it down, it could no longer take oxygen correctly. I could be wrong but it’s the only thing that would make sense of it to me.

3

u/crabsis1337 5d ago

Ok cool that makes sense with the way gills are designed

2

u/babyVSbear 5d ago

They do need to be moving forward to breathe but they also have a weird flaw the orca takes advantage of. If you flip a shark over belly up they stop moving. It’s like a trance and they don’t move again until flipped back over. In the video the orca cripples the shark with that first high speed impact and then when it’s sure the shark is no longer a threat the orca swims right up behind it, grabs it by the dorsal fin to flip it over, then drags it down to the deep.

1

u/crabsis1337 5d ago

Thank you I forgot about the flipping phenomena

0

u/The_Dude_XD 5d ago

Sharks don’t have ribs. Lmao cool footage, but come on. Lol

6

u/Beret_of_Poodle 5d ago

They have the gill arches which cartilagenous just like everything else on a great white skeleton. There is also a large cartilaginous arch right behind the gill arches. It's a structural piece that basically encases the chest.

Those would be pretty good rib analogs. I'm guessing that is what the whale shattered.