Port and Starboard (orcas)
{{short description|Unique pair of male orcas}}
{{For|the nautical terms|Port and starboard}}
{{Infobox animal
| name = Port
| image = File:Port & Starbord in Mossel Bay - July 2024 - by White Shark Ocean.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| caption = Photograph of Port (left) and Starboard in Mossel Bay captured via drone in July 2024 by the White Shark Ocean company.
| species = Orca (Orcinus orca)
| gender = Male
| known = Preying on great white sharks
| birth_date =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| years_active =
| weight =
| children =
| residence = South African coast
| namedafter = Left hanging collapsed dorsal fin, port side
}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox animal
| name = Starboard
| image = File:Starboard in Mossel Bay - Aug 2022.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Photograph of Starboard spouting in August 2022 taken by Esther Jacobs.
| species = Orca (Orcinus orca)
| gender = Male
| known = Preying on great white sharks
| birth_date =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| years_active =
| weight =
| children =
| residence = South African coast
| namedafter = Right hanging collapsed dorsal fin, starboard side
}}
Port and Starboard are a pair of adult male orcas notable for preying on great white sharks off the coast of South Africa.{{cite web |last1=Ankel |first1=Sophia |title=Hundreds of great white sharks have vanished from South Africa's coast and fearsome orcas are to blame |url=https://www.insider.com/orca-attacks-caused-great-white-sharks-flee-cape-town-experts-2020-11 |website=insider.com |publisher=Insider Inc. |access-date=30 April 2021 |date=22 November 2020}} The duo are identified as having rare and distinct collapsed dorsal fins and they are named for the nautical terms, as Port's fin collapses left and Starboard's collapses right.{{cite web |last1=Baker |first1=Harry |title=Great white sharks: top predators or unlikely prey? |url=https://marinemadness.blog/2021/01/25/great-white-sharks-top-predators-or-unlikely-prey/#:~:text=Port%20and%20Starboard%20were%20seen,sometimes%20seen%20in%20captive%20orcas. |website=marinemadness.blog |access-date=30 April 2021 |date=25 January 2021}} Port and Starboard are part of a distinctive "flat-toothed" ecotype present around South Africa.{{Cite journal |last1=Best |first1=PB |last2=Meÿer |first2=MA |last3=Thornton |first3=M |last4=Kotze |first4=PGH |last5=Seakamela |first5=SM |last6=Hofmeyr |first6=GJG |last7=Wintner |first7=S |last8=Weland |first8=CD |last9=Steinke |first9=D |date=2014-04-03 |title=Confirmation of the occurrence of a second killer whale morphotype in South African waters |url=https://doi.org/10.2989/1814232X.2014.923783 |journal=African Journal of Marine Science |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=215–224 |doi=10.2989/1814232X.2014.923783 |bibcode=2014AfJMS..36..215B |issn=1814-232X|hdl=2263/42023 |hdl-access=free }}{{Cite journal |last1=Engelbrecht |first1=Tamlyn M. |last2=Kock |first2=Alison A. |last3=O'Riain |first3=M. Justin |date=January 2019 |title=Running scared: when predators become prey |journal=Ecosphere |language=en |volume=10 |issue=1 |doi=10.1002/ecs2.2531 |issn=2150-8925|doi-access=free |bibcode=2019Ecosp..10E2531E }}
History
Port and Starboard were first reported near Lüderitz in 2009 and are often sighted travelling off the coast of Gansbaai, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, and most notably in False Bay. Prior to 2015, it was believed that orcas entering into the False Bay area only preyed on marine mammals but reports of the pair hunting copper shark and ocean sunfish soon began.{{cite web |last1=Froneman |first1=Anita |title=The story of orca pair Port and Starboard |url=https://www.getaway.co.za/travel/the-story-of-orca-pair-port-and-starboard/ |website=.getaway.co.za |access-date=30 April 2021 |date=19 August 2020}} However, the duo's most notable prey have been great white sharks. The sharks began washing ashore in 2015 with nothing but their livers removed. Examination of the carcasses reveal that orcas open the sharks between their pectoral fins in order to remove the fatty livers and likely induce tonic immobility to accomplish this safely.{{cite web |title=The Battle of the Food Chain in False Bay |url=https://scubadiverlife.com/battle-food-chain-false-bay/ |website=scubadiverlife.com |access-date=30 April 2021 |date=22 July 2020}}
Before 2015, False Bay was well known for its large population of great whites shark but by 2020 sightings were reduced to nearly zero.{{cite web |last1=Burke |first1=Jason |title=Great white vanishing act: where have South Africa's famous sharks gone? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/08/south-africa-return-great-white-sharks-disappearance-species-marine-biologists-eco-tourism |website=The Guardian |access-date=30 April 2021 |date=8 July 2020}} At least seven great whites believed to have been killed by the duo were found in 2017 including one famous female measuring {{convert|16|ft|m}} named Khaleesi that was discovered washed ashore and with her liver removed.{{cite web |last1=Ehrlich |first1=Philippa |title=Winter is coming |url=https://www.saveourseasmagazine.com/winter-is-coming/ |website=saveourseasmagazine.com |access-date=30 April 2021 |date=December 2017}}
In August 2019, five deceased great whites were found with their livers removed, believed to have been killed by Port and Starboard.{{cite web |last1=Dordley |first1=Lucinda |title=Port and Starboard spotted in False Bay |url=https://www.capetownetc.com/cape-town/port-and-starboard-spotted-in-false-bay/ |website=capetownetc.com |access-date=30 April 2021 |date=29 April 2020}} Deceased copper sharks and broadnose sevengill sharks have been discovered with their livers removed in a similar fashion.{{cite web |last1=Brophy |first1=Selene |title=Orcas not only hunting SA's great white, they now have an appetite for Copper Sharks |url=https://www.news24.com/news24/travel/pics-orcas-not-only-hunting-sas-great-white-they-now-have-an-appetite-for-copper-sharks-20200210 |website=news24.com |publisher=News24 |access-date=30 April 2021 |date=10 February 2020}} This is the first time orcas have been documented using this precision feeding technique in this region.{{cite web |title=Those Shark-Killing Orcas Have Been At It Again |url=https://www.2oceansvibe.com/2019/05/28/those-shark-killing-orcas-have-been-at-it-again-imagesvideo/ |website=2oceansvibe.com |access-date=30 April 2021 |date=28 May 2019}}
Starboard was first filmed via drone killing a great white in May 2022 around Mossel Bay, alongside four other orcas {{Cite journal |last1=Towner |first1=Alison V. |last2=Kock |first2=Alison A. |last3=Stopforth |first3=Christiaan |last4=Hurwitz |first4=David |last5=Elwen |first5=Simon H. |date=January 2023 |title=Direct observation of killer whales preying on white sharks and evidence of a flight response |journal=Ecology |language=en |volume=104 |issue=1 |pages=e3875 |doi=10.1002/ecy.3875 |pmid=36184915 |issn=0012-9658|pmc=10078210 |bibcode=2023Ecol..104E3875T }} – this was the first time ever this predation has been filmed. After the attack, white sharks in the area fled for at least seven weeks.
On the 24 February 2023, at least seventeen sevengill sharks were attacked and killed off the coast of Pearly Beach by Port and Starboard in a single day.{{Cite web |date=2023-02-26 |title=EarthSky {{!}} 2 killer whales slaughter 17 sharks in 1 day |url=https://earthsky.org/earth/killer-whales-port-and-starboard-17-shark-livers-in-1-day/ |access-date=2023-02-26 |website=earthsky.org |language=en-US}} All of their livers had been precisely removed and consumed in the same manner as their previous attacks on sharks.
In June 2023, Starboard was observed killing a great white shark in Mossel Bay. The first ever recorded instance of an orca attacking a great white shark alone.{{Cite journal |last1=Towner |first1=A |last2=Micarelli |first2=P |last3=Hurwitz |first3=D |last4=Smale |first4=Mj |last5=Booth |first5=Aj |last6=Stopforth |first6=C |last7=Jacobs |first7=E |last8=Reinero |first8=Fr |last9=Ricci |first9=V |last10=Di Bari |first10=A |last11=Gavazzi |first11=S |last12=Carugno |first12=G |last13=Mahrer |first13=M |last14=Gennari |first14=E |date=2024-01-02 |title=Further insights into killer whales Orcinus orca preying on white sharks Carcharodon carcharias in South Africa |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2989/1814232X.2024.2311272 |journal=African Journal of Marine Science |language=en |volume=46 |issue=1 |pages=1–5 |doi=10.2989/1814232X.2024.2311272 |bibcode=2024AfJMS..46....1T |issn=1814-232X}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bt4zsb5Ig0 |title=Orca Takes Down Great White Shark! Insight Into New Orca Predation Study in Sky News Interview |date=2024-03-04 |last=Earth Legacy Foundation |access-date=2024-07-15 |via=YouTube}}
Effects
There are concerns as to the effect the disappearance of great whites in False Bay will have on the local ecosystem, as the sharks serve as the main predator of the local population of Cape fur seals. Scientists believe that the appearance of Port and Starboard, commercial fishing, and climate change are likely the major contributing factors to the mass exodus of the sharks.{{cite web |last1=Hamilton |first1=Jessica |title=False Bay's great white sharks have vanished, and the answer may be in our fish and chips |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-02/false-bay-great-white-sharks-australian-fish-and-chips-flake/12172090 |website=abc.net.au |publisher=ABC News (Australia) |access-date=30 April 2021 |date=1 May 2020}} Additionally, the major tourist attraction of shark cage diving has ceased in recent years without the appearance of great whites, impacting the local economy.{{cite web |last1=Sguazzin |first1=Antony |title=Orca Attacks Likely Caused Great White Sharks to Vanish Off Cape Town, Experts Say |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-16/orcas-blamed-by-panel-for-absence-of-white-sharks-off-cape-town |website=bloomberg.com |publisher=Bloomberg News |access-date=30 April 2021 |date=16 November 2020}} The Discovery Channel's Air Jaws film series has also been affected by the disappearance of the famous breaching sharks.{{cite web |last1=Bierly |first1=Mandi |title=How Orcas Threatened Shark Week's Popular 'Air Jaws' Franchise |url=https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/shark-week-air-jaws-orcas-killing-spree |website=thrillist.com |publisher=Thrillist |access-date=30 April 2021 |date=26 January 2021}}
Behavioral studies
File:Starboard off Mossel Bay's The Point.jpg
Some researchers theorize that Port and Starboard may be older males, as evidenced by their collapsed dorsal fins. The duo may have abandoned their transient lifestyle after finding it more effective and efficient to hunt sharks instead of the faster, more intelligent marine mammals such as dolphins and pinnipeds.{{cite web |last1=Chivell |first1=Linda |title=A new group of killer whales has moved to South Africa – and they have an appetite for sharks |url=https://www.hermanusonline.mobi/a-new-group-of-killer-whales-have-moved-to-south-africa-and-they-have-an-appetite-for-sharks |website=hermanusonline.mobi |access-date=30 April 2021 |date=27 May 2019}} Marine biologist Dr. Ingrid Visser has documented that orcas will ram into great white sharks in order to flip them upside down into a catatonic state known as tonic immobility. From there, the whale will take hold of the pectoral fins and violently shake it until the liver is exposed.{{cite web |last1=Chandra |first1=Jessica |title=Air Jaws: The Hunted is like an under-the-sea version of a true crime show |url=https://www.nine.com.au/entertainment/latest/air-jaws-the-hunted-shark-film-killed-by-orcas/c966702c-b50e-4d4a-a563-2ef592151859 |website=nine.com.au |access-date=30 April 2021 |date=January 2021}} Similar occurrences have been reported in the Farallon Islands off the coast of San Francisco and once orcas enter the area, the sharks leave for many months.{{cite web |last1=Gander |first1=Kashmira |title=Killer Whales Who Rip Open Great White Sharks, Eat Their Livers, May Explain Predators' Disappearance |url=https://www.newsweek.com/killer-whales-great-white-sharks-eat-livers-predators-disappear-south-africa-1548999 |website=newsweek.com |publisher=Newsweek |access-date=30 April 2021 |date=20 November 2020}} In his research, ecologist Salvador Jorgensen has found that different pods of orcas have entered False Bay previously and this did not cause the sharks to flee in the manner that Port and Starboard have. He believes that the pair behave more like the offshore ecotype of orcas who eat both marine mammals and sharks.{{cite web |last1=Richardson |first1=Heather |title=Where are South Africa's great white sharks? |url=https://news.mongabay.com/2020/06/where-are-south-africas-great-white-sharks/ |website=news.mongabay.com |publisher=Mongabay |access-date=30 April 2021 |date=10 June 2020}}