In the ocean, everything relies on tiny plankton.These provide nutrients for animals at the bottom of the food web which are eaten by larger species, and so on. At the top of the food chain, large predators (often with huge teeth) have perfected their hunting strategies for millennia, giving them the best possible chance to land a tasty meal.
Some wait for the perfect opportunity to pounce on their victims while others use clever tactics to subdue their prey, ready to eat. Here are 10 of the most effective marine predators.
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Ocean top 10 predators
Orca
When it comes to ocean predators, most people think of sharks – in particular, great whites – as the most powerful and effective of them all. But there’s another animal that can even take down a great white: orcas.
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These intelligent marine mammals have learned how to flip sharks upside down to induce a coma-like state so they can tear out their nutritious liver to eat (they usually leave the rest of the carcass). Killer whales can be grouped into different ecotypes, which have different behaviours and diets. Some hunt fish while others eat seals, dolphins, or sharks, including the largest fish in the world: the whale shark. Orcas have even been recorded killing huge animals like humpbacks and blue whales.
Great white shark
Although they can fall prey to killer whales, white sharks are higher up the food chain than every other creature in the ocean. When hunting prey, such as seals, they swim up from underneath their victim and ambush them with an incredible burst of speed, breaching out of the water.
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These impressive displays of hunting prowess – along with negative portrayals of these sharks in the media – have made many people fear great whites. However, the threat these animals pose to humans is very low. In 2024, there were just 47 unprovoked shark bite incidents (from all species of shark) and seven shark-related fatalities in total.
Tiger shark
Tiger sharks aren’t fussy when it comes to what they’ll eat – so much so that some people give them the nickname “the dustbins of the sea.” These large sharks, which are known for their iconic striped markings, will eat fish, seabirds, carrion, and more. Their strong bite can tear into a turtle’s tough shell and, bafflingly, one individual in Australia even tried to eat a whole echidna, despite its protective spines.
Despite their wide-ranging diet, these fearsome fish are laid-back predators, preferring to wait for the right opportunity and ambush their prey, or take the opportunity to feast on the carcass of an animal that died from other causes.
Bull shark
Bull sharks complete the list of the “big three” sharks typically considered the most dangerous (there are more than 500 different shark species). As well as being large, strong and highly territorial, these sharks can swim in brackish and freshwater as well as saltwater. This means they can sometimes be found in estuaries and rivers.
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They tend to hunt in turbid water to make it harder for their prey – which can include fishes, other sharks, turtles, rays and dolphins – to see them coming. Their preferred hunting tactic is known as the “bump and bite.” First, they headbutt their prey to disorientate it (or perhaps this bump is how they investigate potential food) before returning to bite it.
Polar bear
The polar bear’s scientific name Ursus maritimus means “sea bear” because of how well these animals are adapted to the marine environment. With their huge paws to propel them through the water, they are very strong swimmers and can spend days at sea.
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They use clever strategies to try to hunt the ringed or bearded seals they like to eat; sometimes waiting by breathing holes to pounce on a seal when it comes up for air or attacking while their victim is resting on the ice. They need to spend around half of their time hunting to get enough energy to survive as less than 2 percent of their hunts end in a successful kill. On occasion, they’ll even try their luck hunting walruses.
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Sperm whale
Giant squid can grow to an immense 13 metres long but there is a predator known to venture down to the deep sea to hunt them: the sperm whale. These intelligent mammals can dive over 1,000 metres to inky depths of the sea that are far beyond the reaches of sunlight.
We know about the epic battles between giant squid and sperm whales both from squid beaks found in the stomachs of dead whales and scars on their skin from their victims’ suckers.
Saltwater crocodile
Terrifyingly, one species of crocodile can be found in the ocean and you wouldn’t want to cross its path when it’s hungry.
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The saltwater crocodile have large, armoured bodies, huge teeth and are strong swimmers. Salties are known to eat fish, birds, mammals, and even sharks, and typically hunt at night when they can benefit from the element of surprise.
When facing larger prey, saltwater crocs pounce and pull the animal underwater to drown them before performing a death roll: they rotate like this to tear hunks off flesh from their victim’s body as they can’t chew like humans. Once the croc has eaten its fill, it caches the rest of the meat in a secret hiding spot so they can come back later to finish their snack.
Leopard seal
They might look cute (before they open their huge jaws) but leopard seals are one of the Antarctic’s apex predators. They eat krill, fish, penguins, and more, and are the only type of seal known to hunt other seal species. The only natural predator that takes on leopard seals is the ocean’s top killer: orcas.
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Humans
Although we didn’t evolve to live in the water, humans sadly have a huge negative impact on marine animals throughout the seas through overfishing, ship strikes, plastic and chemical pollution, habitat destruction, and other harmful activities. We kill more than one trillion fishes each year as well as hundreds of millions of sharks, 300,000 whales and dolphins, and many other animals including endangered species
