5 million years ago, many sea creatures that we know today roamed the world’s oceans. However, there were two (now extinct) titans that ruled the waves: Megalodon and Livyatan. I made a short animated film to portray these real life sea monsters, and you can watch the video and read the script below!

Whale sharks are gentle giants that have been around for 28 million years, but for most of those years, they shared the seas with another giant shark. Otodus megalodon. We don’t have fossil evidence of Megalodon attacking whale sharks, but that’s because sharks fossils are not easily preserved. Only their teeth remain in the fossil record.

Despite Megalodon’s beefy build, it struggles to keep up with the slender whale shark. Today is the whale shark’s lucky day. Tired from the chase, the Megalodon heads back out to deeper water to hunt for prey. Here, it spots a fish that is new to the Pacific. The great white shark. Today, the great white is the fiercest of all sharks, but in this age, it is just a snack.

Satisfied, the Megalodon leaves the shallows for deep offshore waters, where whales and other large prey can be found. But, out in the deep ocean, Megalodon is not the only hunter. Livyatan, a species of highly predatory sperm whale, also lived during this time, and it was as big as Megalodon. Unlike the modern sperm whale, which only has teeth in its slender lower jaw, it had foot (30 cm) long teeth on both jaws.

Using echolocation, this Livyatan pod has found Megalodon. Little is known about Livyatan’s behavior, but it may have hunted like orcas. Using their thick heads, they ram the massive shark and flip it over. When many sharks are flipped over, they enter a state called tonic immobility. In this state, they become unresponsive and may even die from suffocation. Orcas are known to use this method when hunting great whites.

In the end, the Livyatan only eat Megalodon’s oily liver and leave the rest on the seabed. Attracted to the smell of blood, great white sharks arrive to feed on the remains.