New Zealand beachgoers witnessed a raw display of nature earlier this week in the form of killer whales launching a prolonged attack on sharks in the surf zone. On at least one occasion a large shark beached itself in an apparent attempt to escape, only to be greeted by a barking dog (see video).
The incident occurred at Blue Cliffs Beach. Only one orca, a large male, is shown in the video report. But Clinton Duffy of the New Zealand Conservation Marine Institute explained in the report that several orcas, or killer whales, probably were involved in attacks on at least six broadnose sevengil sharks.
Orcas have been known to attack sharks in New Zealand waters, and this certainly is not the first time the cetaceans have been documented attacking sharks.
Perhaps the most notable event was in 1997 off San Francisco, Calif., when an orca killed a 12-foot great white shark in what appeared to have been a one-sided battle. Video footage of that incident, released much later, went viral.
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