Terrifying aerial footage shows killer whales hunting and killing great white shark

There's nothing like footage revealing the true realities of mother nature to make you grateful for the life you have.

While most adults worry about bills, being able to afford holidays, or if they'll have time to go to the gym that evening, animals live very different lives.

It's fair to say that we've strayed very far from our neanderthal ancestors, with the whole 'survival of the fittest' aspect more or less gone from our lifestyles.

The food chain is a long one, and the predators at the top are some of the scariest creatures to roam this Earth. If you need to be reminded of some of the species that could end our lives in a heartbeat, have a look at this clip.

You may think great white sharks are menacing, but they too have a predator that they have to look out for:

The video was taken in May 2022 in Mossel Bay, South Africa.

In it, we can see great white sharks being brutally attacked by a pod of Orcas - but not just any random Orca. Apparently, it's named Starboard and they're notorious for attacking great whites in the area alongside its pal, Port.

Both can be seen in this attack, dwarfing the aspect of a shark attack ten-fold.

Marine biologists have long been aware of great white sharks being attacked by Orcas, but this clip, which was released by The Ecological Society of America, gives us one of the first instances where it has been caught on tape in all its detail.

Alison Towner, a senior shark scientist at Marine Dynamics Academy, said that their behaviour had 'never been witnessed in detail before', mentioning that it was also shot aerially.

Mercy? What's that? (Sea Search Research and Conservation)

The scientist, who is based in Gansbaai, South Africa, wasn't alone at being in awe of the footage, as Dr Simon Elwen, the Director of Sea Search and a research associate at Stellenbosch University spoke of the magnificence of the whales.

"Killer whales are highly intelligent and social animals, their group hunting methods make them incredibly effective predators," he explained.

This isn't the first time where Starboard carried out a big shark kill though, as it was responsible for the first recorded orca on shark solo kill on camera.

It marked a milestone for orcas, showing that they no longer needed to hunt in packs to catch their prey, and it seems that the behaviour is becoming more commonplace around the world - talk about a trend-setter.

They may look less menacing than sharks, but don't be fooled (Getty Stock Image)

The claim was seemingly confirmed by National Geographic, as they posted footage of an orca grandmother taking out a great white shark before bringing it for her family to feed on.

While it may be a bit of an upset to the status quo, it could end up changing the marine ecosystem for good, as The Guardian reported that orca attacks have affected great white populations that live in Gansbaai as well.

Just over a decade ago, approximately 1,000 sharks lived in the area, but this number has now dramatically dropped.

That 9-5 life isn't so bad anymore, is it?