Watch: Video shows 1st detailed evidence of killer whales hunting sharks in South Africa

FILE - Pod of killer whales. (Francois Gohier/VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)A research and conservation team based in South Africa claims it has captured the first detailed video evidence of orcas, also known as killer whales, hunting white sharks, according to a recent study.

Drone and helicopter footage posted to Sea Search Research & Conservation’s YouTube channel shows clips from May 2022, which captured a pod of five killer whales in Mossel Bay, South Africa, actively hunting and eventually killing a white shark. "This behavior has never been witnessed in detail before, and certainly never from the air," said lead author Alison Towner, a senior shark scientist at Marine Dynamics Academy in Gansbaai, South Africa, in a news release.

The footage only shows one hunting event but scientists believe at least three white sharks were killed. While killer whales have been observed hunting other shark species in the wild, this is the first time they were witnessed hunting white sharks in the Mossel Bay area, the news release continued.The study also highlighted the evasive tactics the white sharks took in order to avoid predation, also known as their flight response, which has never been observed before.

On two other occasions, researchers witnessed killer whales slowly approach their prey but instead of fleeing, the sharks would stay very close to the whales, "keeping it in view." This is a common strategy among other orca prey such as seals and sea turtles, researchers said. "We first observed the flight responses of seven gills and white sharks to the presence of killer whales Port and Starboard in False Bay in 2015 and 2017.