Francesca Pancaldi, a co-author of the study, of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, said: “When orcas target sharks, they often go straight for the liver, which is large, fatty and extremely rich in nutrients.

“The interesting part is how they’ve learned to do this. There’s strong evidence that this behaviour isn’t purely instinctual – it’s learned and culturally transmitted within orca populations.

“This kind of behaviour has been observed in other regions as well, including South Africa, where the orcas often prey on great white sharks. Orcas are indeed the apex predators of the oceans.”

The drone footage captures two separate events, one in 2020 and another in 2022.

The August 2020 hunt saw five orcas pursue a juvenile great white and work together to push it to the surface and flip it upside down. When sharks are upside down they enter a trance-like immobilised state known as tonic immobility, which keeps them very still.

Its body was then dragged underwater and the footage shows the whales emerging with the liver in their mouths. This was repeated shortly afterwards with another juvenile.

Adolescent sharks naive to threat

Scientists believe that the orcas go after the young sharks because the adults are likely aware of the tactic and danger and flee, but the adolescent sharks are naive to the threat.

A carbon copy of the hunt was also seen in 2022. A study on the findings, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, revealed this is the first time that juvenile great whites have been targeted by killer whales.

The behaviour of liver-hunting has been seen previously but mostly targeting adult sharks. The refinement of the technique to juveniles suggests an intelligence behind the hunting.

Mr Jorgensen said: “This is the first time we are seeing orcas repeatedly target juvenile white sharks.

“Adult white sharks react quickly to hunting orcas, completely evacuating seasonal gathering areas and not returning for months.

“But these juvenile white sharks may be naive to orcas. We don’t know yet whether white shark anti-predator flight responses are instinctual or need to be learned.”

Erick Higuera Rivas, the project director at Conexiones Terramar and Pelagic Life and lead author of the article, said: “This behaviour is a testament to orcas’ advanced intelligence, strategic thinking and sophisticated social learning, as the hunting techniques are passed down through generations within their pods.”