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Killer whales are suspected to be behind the disappearance of white sharks off Cape Town's coast over the last few years, according to a report published by the government on Tuesday.
The vanishing of white sharks from False Bay and Gansbaai had previously been blamed on illegal hunting and overfishing, among other causes.
But the results of a study conducted by a government-appointed team of nine local and international experts suggest that Orcas could be the culprits, after a pair was first sighted in the area in 2015.
The researchers said they "found some evidence for a causative link between the appearances of a pod of Orcas that had specialised in preying on white sharks".
The number of white sharks in the area is not known, but spotters initially reported steep declines in 2017 - then an extended absence.
The remains of five white sharks killed by Orcas were discovered in the Gansbaai area in 2017.
Another shark killed in a similar fashion was found on a beach this year, and there could be many more, a marine biologist and one of the researchers, Alison Kock, said during the report's presentation.
