Killer whales are targeting great white sharks to eat their livers

Well, this is the stuff of nightmares.

At least three times in May, great white sharks off the coast of South Africa were killed by orcas who then — gulp! — largely ate only their livers, according to a a recent report in Newsweek.

The magazine said this was the first time of reports of great whites being hunted by orcas in that area, though it has occurred elsewhere in the world on rare occasions.

Orcas eat seals, other kinds of sharks and even some other whales. They steer clear of great whites generally.

Scientists who studied the dead sharks after their carcasses washed ashore determined orcas were responsible.

But even more frightening: The sharks' livers had been removed. The organ has a high level of a substance called squalene, which helps produce steroids and hormones.

It's possible, according to scientists and the Newsweek report, that killer whales have learned how to hunt great whites for their livers — and have passed on that information to other whales.

There's also a shark hunting technique the whales may be using, which involves turning the huge fish upside down, at which point they become nearly comatose.

Orcas are extremely smart and can communicate with each other. If one or a handful of whales figured out how to make great whites easy prey and get their livers, they may have spread the information to other whales.

So when do they take over the world?