SYDNEY: A group of divers on the Lower Eyre Peninsula say they saw a pod of killer whales single out and kill a great white shark.
The divers, who were off the coast of the Lower Eyre Peninsula, said they witnessed the attack during a shark cage diving trip to the Neptune Islands on Monday.
They said it involved a family group of orcas, including two calves.
Charter operator Matt Waller said the whales were launching themselves out of the water and slamming down upon the great white.
“If that’s what we’re seeing on the surface, then I can only imagine that under the surface you had other whales that were working to try and keep this shark up,” he said.
“It never actually went down. It stayed on the surface and was trying to get away.”
Mr Waller said it was the first time he had seen “two apex predators of the marine world” fight.
“It’s like the title fight of all title fights,” he said.
“People were crying. People were laughing. People were swearing. They were at the height of emotion.”
Crew member and marine biologist Gina Dickinson said the shark was eventually killed under the surface but she could see the orca pod’s “movements”.
“They were teaching the young, rounding it up in order to attack,” she said.
“The intelligence behind it was just fantastic.
“It was definitely the highlight of my career. Not much is probably going to top this.”
