Fun Facts
In 1997, near the Farallon Islands off the coast of San Francisco, something unprecedented occurred. A group of whale watchers saw an Orca kill and eat a Great White Shark.
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While the method of attack was not clear, there appeared to be little to no fight, and such an event has happened multiple times since the first. Researchers believe that Orcas have learned to use tonic immobility to their advantage in hunting a previously un-preyed upon predator.
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A further interesting fact about the predation of the Great Whites, is that immediately following the killing, all Great Whites in the area disappeared. This is especially significant because this was a major feeding area and season for Great Whites, which had been observed there yearly since 1989. One tagged Great White is known to have dropped to 500 meters and swam all the way to Hawaii following the incident. The sharks did not return the next year, though they did in the one following. However, upon the next occurrence of an Orca-Great White killing, the same reaction was witnessed. (Shark Attack News 2013) This presents a plethora of questions regarding the communication systems between Great Whites and further reveals the Orca Whale's immense learning capacity.
Tonic immobility backfires in the face of Orca intelligence
Myotonic Goats: aka "Tennessee Fainting", "Tennessee Meat", "Texas Wooden Leg", "Stiff", "Nervous", "Scare", or "Fainting" goats
Fainting Goats are a mutational wonder. While not evolved out of a mechanism for thanotosis and having absolutely no adaptive value, the phenomenon could still, in some way, be considered an alternatively developed form of tonic immobility. Though the surprise that induces this reaction causes the animal stress and is not necessarily a positive experience, neither is it negative.