Rare footage captures Orca pod brutally paralysing great white shark and ripping out its liver

Great white sharks have long been thought of as the kings of the ocean but that theory might have just gone out of the window.

Some brutal footage has managed to capture the moment an Orca pod ruthlessly dispatched a group of great whites, emphasising exactly how the killer whales earned their name.

It's perhaps a tale of two films which defines public opinion of both the orca and the great white shark, as Free Willy and Jaws both tell very different stories when it comes to the aquatic animals.

However, while orcas have been kept in captivity for some time, even when they've killed some of the trainers that have worked alongside them at SeaWorld, great whites simply cannot be kept confined.

When it comes to living in the wild, the recent footage of five orcas killing off some juvenile great white sharks really shows who is boss.

Free Willy wasn't as friendly as he seemed in the film (Getty Stock)

In a clip, we see a group of the specialist shark-hunters flip the blood-loving beasts onto their back, which induces a state called 'tonic immobility', where the shark essentially cannot move because it is no longer aware of its surroundings.

This leaves the orcas free to devour the shark's fatty liver without worrying about it providing much of a fight, something which scientists say is further proof of their incredible intelligence.

Marine biologist Erick Higuera-Rivas said: "This behaviour is a testament to orcas' advanced intelligence, strategic thinking, and sophisticated social learning.

"The hunting techniques are passed down through generations within their pods.

"This temporary state renders the shark defenceless, allowing the orcas to extract its nutrient-rich liver and likely consume other organs as well, before abandoning the rest of the carcass."

The particular clip was captured on the Gulf of California, and scientists seem to think that it's further evidence of orcas targeting younger great white sharks who perhaps lack the experience of older sharks that know to flee when they encounter the dangerous killer whales.

You can watch the harrowing moment below.

"This is the first time we are seeing orcas repeatedly target juvenile white sharks," said study author Dr Salvador Jorgensen at California State University.

"Adult white sharks react quickly to hunting orcas, completely evacuating their seasonal gathering areas and not returning for months, but these juvenile white sharks may be naïve to orcas."

So, if you ever run into a great white shark in the wild, maybe just flip them onto their back if you want to escape, although you can probably skip the step of devouring their liver unless you really want to establish your dominance.

But if you encounter a killer whale while out swimming, then your chances may well be a little lower, as you should probably just hope for the best.