In the ocean, both the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) and the killer whale or orca (Orcinus orca) are fearsome top predators. But of the two massive animals, the killer whale may be the more formidable one, a new study has found.
With its 300 sharp teeth, the great white has the most powerful bite in the animal world - 18,000 Newtons (1,835 kilograms force).
Although the great white shark has a fearsome reputation, in a straight fight it is outclassed by the orca. Not only are orcas much bigger, they are also smarter. Great whites are now known to be warm blooded but orcas still have much higher metabolic rates because they breathe air.
If it's a great white shark, then the shark is definitely bigger and stronger. A gorilla is, at the very most, about 500–600 lbs. A great white shark can weigh up to about 6,000 lbs. It would require an incredible amount of strength to breach the ocean while carrying that much weight.
Hit the shark in the face and gills. Your best bet, if attacked, is to make the shark see you as a strong, credible threat. Usually, a hard blow to the shark's gills, eyes or snout (end of its nose) will cause it to retreat. These are really the only vulnerable areas on a shark.
Dolphins have even been known to protect humans in danger of sharks. Apex Prey. Orcas are the largest member of the dolphin family and have been known to hunt great white sharks when food is scarce. Full-Time Orcas, Part-Time Shark Tamers.
Despite the old saying that aiming for the snout is the best strategy, a shark's most sensitive areas are really its eyes and its gills. Aiming for the nose, which is not known to be a weak spot, is generally considered a bad idea. "If you miss the snout its mouth is unfortunately very close by," said R.
The northern elephant seal and northern (Steller) sea lion have diets that are very varied. Both species are known for eating shark eggs, and the northern elephant seal is known to prey on adult sharks and rays too. Pinnipeds (seals and sea lions) aren't the only marine mammals that have snacked on a shark.
Orcas are the real apex predators of the ocean. Killer whales may be the only animals on our list that actually prey on great white sharks. Otherwise known as orcas, these intelligent mammals belong to the dolphin family and are probably the top predators in the entire ocean.
But often they are swimming around at a slower speed of about 1.5 mph (2.4 kph). But sharks can swim much faster when they are attacking, about 12 mph or 20 kph, the speed of a running human on land. You're not going to be able to swim away fast enough, you'd need a boat or jet ski or some other equipment.
A shark would beat piranhas in a fight.
To be clear, there is a limit to the number of piranhas that a shark could defeat in a battle. Piranhas tend to school in groups of 20 to 30 members, so those are the numbers that we're going to use.
Killer “whales,” which are actually dolphins, are apex predators, and their diet includes fish, squid, seals, sea birds and whales larger than themselves, according to the Natural History Museum in London. They are the only known predators of great white sharks.
A shark would win a fight against an octopus. Although we can find cases where an octopus kills a smaller shark, the size disparity is simply too much for an octopus to overcome. Even if the octopus uses camouflage, it can't hide from a shark completely.
A shark would win a fight against a Komodo dragon, and it wouldn't even be close. Since the shark can only survive in water and the Komodo dragon spends a fair amount of time swimming in the water, that's where the fight will take place.
A great white shark would win a fight against a saltwater crocodile. These deadly creatures are incredibly powerful, but the great white shark has an amazing advantage in the water. Not only would this animal probably notice the crocodile first, but it also has the speed to land a devastating attack.
A shark would win a fight against a bear. Although a polar bear might be the best match out of any bear for a shark, it would still lose. It doesn't have the toolkit needed to slay a creature so much larger, faster, and deadlier than it.
Do orcas have predators? Orcas are apex predators, which means they're at the very top of the food chain and they have no predators. Killer whales are some of the largest and most powerful animals in the ocean, and no other predator is able to challenge them.
The curse of man
By far the most significant predator of (arguably threat too, as we don't always eat them) sharks is man, with humans considered responsible to significant declines in shark and ray numbers in recent decades.
As apex predators, killer whales have no known natural predators. Their lone threat from other animals has been from humans, who reduced their populations dramatically across the 20th century.
A shark would win in a fight against a dolphin. They are faster, larger, and more attuned to predation than others. Furthermore, their mouths are actually large enough to bite down on a dolphin and deal fatal damage.
“If you've got cold air, that'll freeze their gills up very quickly,” said Greg Skomal, a marine scientist for the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. “Those gill filaments are very sensitive and it wouldn't take long for the shark to die.”
Killer whales and humans are both predators of adult tiger sharks. Killer whales are larger in size and weight than tiger sharks allowing them to overwhelm these fish. Humans capture baby and adult tiger sharks in commercial fishing nets and kill them for their skin, liver oil, and cartilage.
If you're being attacked. This isn't a bear, it's a shark. If you find yourself in an aggressive encounter, give it hell: punch, kick and poke at sensitive spots -- but be careful where you aim.
Revenge: No shark attacks a human for 'revenge,' but if threatened - like any animal, including humans - it will try to defend itself from injury or death.
The fearless cookie-cutters have even disabled the most dangerous ocean creature of all—the nuclear submarine. They attacked exposed soft areas including electrical cables and rubber sonar domes.