KILLER WHALE LIVES UP TO NAME.Byline: Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Killer whales are kings of the sea - and now there's videotape to prove it. A clash between a killer whale and a great white shark great white shark or white shark Large, aggressive shark (Carcharodon carcharias, family Lamnidae), considered the species most dangerous to humans. It is found in tropical and temperate regions of all oceans and is noted for its voracious appetite. off the San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden coast last weekend was captured on video. The taping, apparently the first ever, has electrified whale and dolphin researchers around the world. ``Nothing like this has been known to happen before,'' said Mary Jane Schramm, a naturalist who witnessed the attack. Before the encounter Saturday off the Farallon Islands The Farallon Islands are a group of islands and rocks found in the Gulf of the Farallones, off the coast of San Francisco, California, USA. They lie 27 miles (43 km) outside the Golden Gate, 20 miles (32 km) south of Point Reyes. They are visible from the mainland on clear days. , marine biologists assumed that killer whales and great white sharks - the ocean's two boss predators - avoided each other. The incident started when wildlife enthusiasts on a cruise sponsored by the Oceanic Society received a radio transmission from a fisherman who'd seen two orcas in the area. When the cruise arrived, the two orcas - a 20-foot-long female and a youngster about half her length - were still there, swimming idly about. ``Then we noticed this dark shape moving in the water, giving the orcas a wide berth,'' Schramm said. Soon, the female orca veered toward the dark shape, and then surged to the surface with a 10-foot-long great white shark in her jaws. ``We were stunned,'' Schramm said. The whale eventually swam away from the boat and began thrashing the shark on the surface of the water, a practice orcas typically employ with their prey. About that time, Peter Pyle, a great white shark expert with the Point Reyes Point Reyes is a prominent cape on the Pacific coast of northern California. It is located in Marin County approximately 30 mi (48 km) WNW of San Francisco. The term is often applied to the Point Reyes Peninsula Bird Observatory A bird observatory is a centre for the study of bird migration and bird populations. They are usually focused on local birds, but may also include interest in far flung areas. who is stationed on Southeast Farallon Island, raced to the scene in a Boston whaler Boston Whaler, or just "Whaler," is a brand of motorboat manufactured in the United States. Classically, a Whaler is characterized by a foam-cored fiberglass hull (often twin V-hull in design), with an outboard motor and center steering console. . With a special underwater camera, he got within 5 feet of the orcas and began shooting the attack. ``The female apparently killed the shark, but she didn't eat it - she was encouraging the calf to feed,'' Schramm said. ``(The calf) especially liked the liver. You know how hard it can be to get kids to eat. Not him, though.'' CAPTION(S): Photo, map PHOTO (color) An orca, left, kills a great white shark off the San Francisco coast in what may be the first such attack caught on video. MAP: Site of killer whale attack |
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