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Great whites are considered the supreme predator of the ocean. They can grow to sizes over six meters and have over 300 serrated teeth in their mouths. The giants of the depths can travel at speeds of over 50 kilometers per hour, and can detect minute movement of prey 250 meters away.
All of the above suggests that there is nothing more terrifying than great white sharks in the oceans, but something has killed them off the coast of South Africa, experts have said.
Since 2017, cage diving operators have noticed a sharp drop in large white sightings.
In 2018 there were 50 sightings and in 2019 none.
It was thought that illegal hunting and human activity were responsible for the decline of the great whites, but scientists now believe there is another explanation.
Orcas, or orcas, were first spotted off South Africa in 2015, and a team of nine experts believe they are responsible for the great whites’ act of extinction.
South Africa relies on great white sharks for its tourism industry.
As a result, the Government has called an emergency meeting regarding their disappearance.
A statement from the South African Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries said: “This day is important as it serves as an annual reminder of how South Africa benefits from a wide variety of fishery resources, but also that we must manage sustainably and adequately protect the ecosystems that shelter these limited resources.
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Scientists said at the meeting that they “had found evidence of a causal link between the appearances of a group of orcas specializing in hunting white sharks.”
In 2017, the remains of five great whites were discovered near the Gansbaai area, which corresponded to orcas attacks.
One of the teams, marine biologist Alison Kock, said when killer whales appear sharks tend to die.
She said during the presentation: “Whenever this happened, there was an immediate drop and a gap in the sighting of white sharks.”
However, she admitted that “we still don’t have all the answers.”
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