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Killer Whale

Orcinus orca

Summary 2

The Killer Whale or Orca (Orcinus orca), or less commonly, Blackfish, is the largest species of the dolphin family. These animals are referred to as whales but they are in fact part of the dolphin family. Instantly recognizable, Orcas are found in all oceans from Arctic and Antarctic cold water to the warm waters of the Tropics.

Length 18-32 ft (505-9.8 m)
Weight 5,200-18,000 lb (2,300-8,000 kg)

Orcas live is strong family groups which are lead by a mature female. Both male and female offspring remain with their maternal family group. Killer Whales are extremely intelligent and have been shown to be able to learn and teach new behaviors, usually new hunting techniques.

Different groups of killer whales are often referenced to have a particular culture based on their behaviors and food. The most well know are the resident fishing-eating whales and the transient mammal-eating whales of the northeast Pacific. The resident whales focus on hunting fish, particularly salmon, in a relatively fixed area and use complex vocalizations made of up clicks and whistles. In contrast the transient whales hunt mammals, seals and other small whales and dolphins. These whales live in smaller pods which travel more widely in the search for food and use much quieter vocalizations for communication. These examples are some of the best studied cultures however other cultures exist in other regions. Scientists believe that several subspecies of Killer Whale may exist, especially around Antarctica, as it is thought that breeding does not cross these cultural lines.

Population and Conservation Status 3

It is difficult to estimate the population of such a widely distributed animal. However it is thought that the Global Population is at least 50,000 animals across many different population and potentially subspecies.

This species is Data Deficient

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Dina Dubrovskaya, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/28898099@N05/3536057976
  2. Adapted by Bodacious Dream - Dave Rearick from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orcinus_orca
  3. (c) Bodacious Dream - Dave Rearick, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

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