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<\/p>\nA great white shark left half eaten and washed up on the beach has horrified beachgoers who now wonder what could have killed the beast.<\/p>\n
Ben Johnstone, 28, found the 10-foot predator dead on the beach in Victoria, Australia on October 10. The Portland Bait and Tackle manager believes the death of the shark could be due to killer whales close to the coast.<\/p>\n
The pod of orcas had been spotted in the area just two days prior to the washed-up great white. Experts are not completely sure they were the cause of the death, but it appears likely.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Surfer totally oblivious to 'endangered' shark circling him until witness screamed<\/b><\/p>\n
For the latest news and updates on ocean-going predators, click here.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Mr Johnstone said: "Pretty much the whole underbody was missing from the pectoral fins, to the base of the tail. The body was still pretty fresh \u2013 it had probably washed up that morning.<\/p>\n
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"I'm pretty certain it was killer whales \u2013 they kill sharks just for the livers, it\u2019s the only part of them that they eat. As for what happened to the rest of the body, once the orcas are done, the rest of the intestines, stomach etcetera would\u2019ve fallen out, as there\u2019s nothing there to hold them in."<\/p>\n
Trophic ecologist Lauren Meyer of Flinders University says the cause of death is "not 100% clear", though whales could be part of the issue. Speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: "We see this with things like humpback whales, where killer whales come in and actually eat the tongue and leave the rest of the whale.<\/p>\n
"We certainly see that they prefer the liver of white sharks, mako sharks, bronze whalers and sevengills, and even tiger sharks. I'm not surprised to see this in a place like Portland. We know there are white sharks that go through that area and use it as an important corridor.<\/p>\n
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"We also know that it's a place for killer whales where they hunt a number of different prey items." The carcass has since been collected and sent off to government agencies and academics for further testing. <\/p>\n
Experienced fisherman Ben added: "But I don\u2019t know what they are, hence why there mysteries. I was intrigued more then anything. I found it pretty cool that something like that happened in our local waters."<\/p>\n
Great white shark sightings are on the rise, with one spotted on Manly Beach in Sydney, Australia earlier this week. The chilling encounter, reported by the Daily Star, saw surfers encounter an "endangered" strain of the ocean-going predator.<\/p>\n
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