Great white sharks have long been sold as the ocean’s final boss. A perfect predator, slick with cartilage, terrifying rows of jagged teeth, and hovering at the top of the food chain. But off the coast of South Africa, even they’ve been forced to retreat. All because two very determined orcas seem to have a taste for shark liver. For years, Gansbaai drew tourists hoping to cage-dive among great whites. That changed in 2017, when the sharks started disappearing. Early theories blamed the usual suspects—warming seas, dwindling fish stocks—until the evidence arrived on shore. Great whites were washing up with surgical-looking wounds, their livers and hearts torn out. The killers were identified as two orcas, nicknamed Port and Starboard.At least 17 sevengill #sharks have been killed by infamous #killerwhale pair Port & Starboard this week in South Africa. Only the livers were eaten with the leftover carcasses washing ashore [1/3] @MarineDynamics Christine Wessels pic.twitter.com/PQVk1KI9mF— Dr. Alison Kock (@UrbanEdgeSharks) February 24, 2023Marine biologist Alison Towner has spent years tracking sharks in these waters. Her research shows that after an orca attack, tagged great whites scatter. They don’t come back for weeks, sometimes months. “What we seem to be witnessing is a large-scale avoidance,” she explained, comparing the behavior to wild dogs steering clear of lions on the Serengeti.Two Predators Made Great White Sharks Flee South AfricaOver five years, her team tracked 14 tagged sharks fleeing when orcas appeared. In some bays, sightings have nearly vanished. It’s a shift that scientists call unprecedented. In Gansbaai, absences used to last a week at most. Now the predators are gone for entire seasons.The ecosystem is already reconfiguring. Bronze whaler sharks have moved into the gap, only to be hunted themselves by Port and Starboard. Seals, no longer checked by great whites, spend more time harassing endangered penguins and fishing in spots they once avoided. When a top predator disappears, everything beneath it starts to slide.The orcas aren’t killing willy nilly. They’re after liver, a fatty organ packed with energy. How they learned this isn’t clear. What is clear is that they’ve perfected the technique, ripping open sharks with surgical precision and leaving the rest to sink. “The impacts of orcas removing sharks are likely far wider-reaching,” Towner warned.For a species already slow to grow and reproduce, the added pressure is grim news. Great whites are vulnerable, and Port and Starboard aren’t letting up. The myth of the untouchable apex predator doesn’t hold in South Africa anymore. Two black-and-white hunters have rewritten the rules of fear.The post Great White Sharks Are Fleeing South Africa Thanks to Two Orca Serial Killers appeared first on VICE.