What Animals Eat Sharks?

Sharks are fascinating, borderline unearthly creatures with millions of years of evolution backing their near unquestionable supremacy over the open sea. Lightning fast, unblinking, and terrifying, they are that rarest of apex predators gifted not only with a frightening visage, but the ubiquitous, pop culture induced theme music to back it up. So this begs the question: if we, against our will, hear the sunken tones of John Williams "dun Dun dun Dun" every time we see a shark, what creature makes sharks think "dun Dun dun Dun?" What animal eats the animal that eats everything? Is there not, as a wise Jedi once said to a gecko monster, "always a bigger fish?"

It will surprise nobody who's ever watched an episode of The Twilight Zone to learn that man was the real monster all along, with the practice of "shark finning" reducing some shark populations by as much as 70% over a quarter century, according to the Smithsonian Institution. The process involves catching sharks, removing their dorsal, pectoral, and caudal fins, and then usually throwing the still living creatures back into the open water. The cartilage in the fins is predominantly used to make shark fin soup, an expensive delicacy with roots in ancient Chinese culture.

If that's not gruesome enough for you, it's also worth mentioning that, in 2017, a group of orcas went on a killing spree off the coast of South Africa, hunting down great white sharks with a drive not often seen outside of old Charles Bronson double features. According to Newsweek, three great whites were found dead, washed ashore. Autopsies revealed that the terrible beasts had been hunted by killer whales who then gnawed out their livers (and one of their hearts) and left their bodies to rot. And keep in mind, these are great white sharks we're talking about. They're nature's own perfect bad dream. The lesson? Maybe we never should've freed Willy after all. 

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