Wild Video Shows Orcas Flipping Over, Slicing Open Great White Sharks To Devour Their Livers

Orcas, commonly known as “killer whales,” love liver — especially great white shark liver.

Footage shot in Mexico by scientists shows how orcas are able to take chunks out of great whites’ fatty organs.

In the Gulf of California, with one video taken in 2020 and the other in 2022, researchers recorded two killer whale hunts on film. The footage shows the orca pods launching attacks on juvenile great white sharks by flipping them over to stun them, and then after, they slice open their sides to eat their livers. The team of researchers published their discoveries Monday in the Frontiers in Marine Science journal. (RELATED: Sighting Of Rare Whale Shark Triggers Beach Closures In Israel)

One video shows every single member of the pod sharing a shark’s liver while the body sinks into the ocean. Interestingly, a sea lion also made an appearance during the orcas’ hunt, appearing to be on the lookout for a possible free meal. However, the orcas start blowing bubbles, seemingly trying to scare off the animal.

You can watch the video of the wild scene here.

An orca pod that made headlines last year for gutting a whale shark has struck again, this time perfecting a technique that involves paralyzing young great white sharks to eat their livers. https://t.co/9dxRZk2tJ9

— Live Science (@LiveScience) November 3, 2025

Marine biologist Erick Higuera-Rivas, also a documentarian who shot the hunting from a nearby boat, stated that he didn’t realize the importance of his video until the editing process.

“I saw in the monitor that the shark had the liver hanging out on the side, already popped off. And a few minutes later, they came up with the liver in their mouth,” said Higuera-Rivas, who is a co-author of the study, per NBC News. “I was surprised that it could be a great white. I was not believing it.”

Previously, the only evidence that existed of orcas hunting great white sharks came out of South Africa. There, killer whales have been feeding on sharks’ livers for years, with carcasses washing up on shore, per the study.

According to study co-author and Instituto Politécnico Nacional Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas researcher Francesca Pancaldi, a great white shark’s liver is fatty and nutritious, taking up around one-fourth of their body and giving “a lot of energy,” per NBC News.