| Orca | Great White Shark |
|---|---|
|
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| Wins 66.80% of 1k fights | Wins 33.20% of 1k fights |
Great White Sharks and Orcas, also known as Killer Whales are the most deadly predators you'll ever encounter in the ocean. If these two aquatic titans ever met face to face, the Orca would almost assuredly come out on top.
Unlike many other matchups on FantasyBrawls.com, the Orca versus Shark confrontation has already happend. The tactic Oracs employ when hunting white sharks involves ramming them from below or flipping them to their backs in a effort to get the shark into a state of tonic immobility
Now, what is tonic immobility you ask?
Tonic immobility is a trance like state sharks enter when the are turned upside down. While in this state they are largely immobile, as the name implies. They're essentially zombies and about as harmless as a house cat.
Scientist theorize that whenver a shark is oriented upside down, their bodies have an overload of sensory inputs. This results in temporary paralysis.
As bad as this sounds, it may have a few benefits. One, being able to temporarily immobolize a shark allows researchers to collect data safely. And, the state is thought to help the shark reduce stress in dangerous situations.
But, for all the good it may cause, it certainly leaves them vulnerable to Orcas.
Unfortunately for the shark, the Orca does not experience tonic immobility. They do however, rely on acoustic communication and social structures within their pod.
These things can be exploited by unscrupulous humans but a shark, with its tiny little brain would never be able to capitalize on such a flaw.
There is a small chance the shark could latch onto the orca's phonic lips, which are located in the nasal passage just under the blow hole.
Phonic lips, also known as "monkey lips," are specialized structures in the nasal system of toothed whales. They consist of muscular flaps that vibrate to produce sounds used in communication and echolocation.
Echolocation: Orcas produce clicks through the phonic lips, which travel as sound waves, bounce off objects, and return as echoes. These echoes help the Orca to locate prey, navigate, and understand its surroundings.
Communication: The phonic lips enable orcas to produce a variety of sounds, such as whistles and pulsed calls, which are essential for social interactions and maintaining pod cohesion.
If severed or punctured, the orca's communication mechanicism could be neutralized thus preventing them from calling for back up.
Though, in most cases a full grown orca would solo a white shark any way.
The top Orca speed is around 35 miles per hours. The great white top speed is 25 miles per hour. The Orca is the clear winner here, but what about stamina, which animal has better endurance?
Well, if you guessed Orca, you'd be correct! Great Whites can hit 25 miles per hour in short bursts while the Orca can reach and maintain a speed of 35 miles per hour over much longer distances. This makes Shamu one of the fastest animals in the sea.
Orca are not actually whales, they're the largest species of oceanic dolphins on the planet. If you look closely at their anatomy and compare it to that of a bottlenose dolphin, there are some striking similarities.
The Killer Whale's agility makes much more sense when you remember they're really just dolphins on steroids.
Many scientists attribute the advanced intelligence of Orca to a number of factors, here are the most notable.
Widely varied diet
Long lifespans - some can live up to 90 years
Large global distribution
Complex social structures
All of these things contribute to the orca's intelligence. Living for decades allows you to accumulate a ton of knowledge. And having social structures in place allows you to impart the wisdom gained to the younger generations.
Hunting a wide array of animals forces you to adapt different hunting strategies and techniques, which in turn increases your knowledge base. Some orcas have been observed hunting birds with fish as bait!
When it comes to aquatic intelligence, no other animal comes close, with the exception of other dolphin species.
For a great white to stand a chance against an orca, the stars will need to align just right. The Orca needs to be alone, of course, they cannot be fully grown, and the shark needs the element of surprise on their side.
It's unlikely for a juvenile to be alone since they'll likely be traveling closely with their pods, but if one were to wander off, it could be game over if a shark ambushes it.
Again, it's a very unlikely scenario, but it could happen.
Orcas and White sharks are formidable creatures that can hold their own against anything the ocean throws at them. But humans are a different type of threat. Seaworld and other places profit from kidnapping orcas, throwing them in fish tanks, and making them perform tricks.
White sharks are killed as bycatch, and their fins are harvested for soup, sadly. Conservation efforts can be as small as avoiding buying from any company that directly or indirectly hurts animals.
With my PSA out of the way, this fight was undoubtedly one-sided, if you want to check out a closer bout, check out the matchup between an African lion and a Siberian Tiger.
Posted by: Matt Irving on 04/24/2024
