Orca

aka    Killer Whales

                     

                      Odontocetes                                Delphindae                   Orca Orcinas

 

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Habitat :  Found in all oceans of the world.   Known to gather in large pods at the eastern and western edges of the North Pacific Ocean and the North Atlantic, and Antarctica. Able to travel 100 miles per day at about 7 knots. Can remain underwater for approximately 15 minutes
Description: Adult males reach 10 to 11 tons and 32 feet long. Females grow to 25-28 feet and seven tons. Calves average 7 feet at birth and weigh about 400 pounds. Glossy black with white underside and markings. The shape of the saddle patch and dorsal fin is unique to each whale and serves as identification for individual animals. Male dorsal fins are triangular and stand up to 6 feet in length.  Female dorsal fins are curved and generally less than 3 feet in length.
Food source:  Members of the resident pods that live most of their lives in that area feed on salmon, herring, halibut, hake and other fish.  Transient pods that roam the oceans feed on other marine mammals including seals, dolphins, other whales, thus their nickname, Killer Whales. It is common for Orcas to eat 100 pounds of food per day.
Voice: Echolocation sounds allow Orcas to see underwater.  All toothed whales (and dolphins) have this ability.  The other sounds are used for communication.  These sounds which consist of shrill whistles and high pitched calls, many of which are out of hearing range for humans.  However, these sounds can be heard by other whales many miles away.
Life in the Wild: Males remain with their mother generally their whole lives to baby-sit and protect  the young.  The pod boss is the oldest grandmother who leads the pod, making decisions as to where to go and what to eat. Females have been known to live for 90 years, males lifespan is somewhat shorter.   Captive whales seldom survive more than 7 or 8 years in captivity. 
Body changes in captivity: The dorsal fin bends over to one side in captive animals.

Eyepatch

                                                    

                                      Identifiable notches on Male dorsal

 

 

                                            

                 Saddle patch behind dorsal fin                                 Adult male babysitting a young female

Temperament: Although they are called Killer Whales, it has been found that they are so intelligent that the pods do not wage wars on each other for food source or territory. It is also noted above that the transient pods and resident pods prey on completely different creatures which could have some bearing on their ability to get along peacefully.  There has never been a report that an intentional attack was directed toward a human being.  In fact, I can personally say that Orcas will many times tolerate certain humans in their close proximity underwater.  

 

               

 

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Orca Gallery click here