Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) / Whales Breeds - Orca, Sperm, Killer Whale, Beluga, Blue Whale - Animals and Pets Pictures

I. DESCRIPTION:

The killer whale is actually the largest living species of dolphin, and not a true whale.
Males can measure 32 feet long, with a 6-foot tall dorsal fin, and weigh 10 tons. Females can grow up to 28 feet in length, with a 3-foot tall dorsal fin, and weigh up to 6 tons.
The killer whale has a black body with a white belly, and a white patch on its chin and by its eye. It also has a gray or white saddle behind its dorsal fin.

II. GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE AND HABITAT:

Killer whales inhabit all oceans, but mostly occur in Arctic and Antarctic waters.
They frequent coastal waters along the continental shelf, and can be found along the entire Alaskan coastline, except where pack ice excludes them because of their dorsal fin.

III. DIET:

Resident and transient pods of orcas have very different diets.
The transients have given the species its "killer" reputation. They hunt seals, sea otters, birds, Steller sea lions and other whales. A pack of transient orcas is capable of bringing down a gray whale.
Killer whales in resident pods eat fish, preferring salmon, cod, halibut and herring.

IV. LIFE CYCLE/SOCIAL STRUCTURE:

Killer whales mate year-round. It's believed that orcas, like most dolphins, sometimes have sex for pleasure.
Females give birth to a single calf after a gestation period of 13 to 16 months. At birth, the calf measures 8 feet long and weighs 400 pounds.
Male orcas live for 30 to 50 years, and females for 50 to 70.
Killer whales live within highly complex social structures. They belong to either residential pods (which stay in the same area through much of the year), or transient pods (which roam widely).
Resident pods are matriarchal societies. Since female orcas can live for as long as 70 years, these pods often include several generations of whales.
Ranging in size from five to 40 animals, resident pods feed on fish such as squid, cod, salmon and halibut.
Scientists know little about the family makeup of transient pods, but they know a fair amount about their behavior. In terms of what they eat, and how they behave (see "Diet" above), transient orcas have close to zero in common with their resident cousins.
Transient pods travel far, often covering a 500- to 900-mile section of coastline.

V. SPECIAL NOTES/ADAPTATIONS:

Resident killer-whale pods breathe in unison, and when traveling, frequently dive in unison too.
Both transient and resident killer whales hunt communally, swim at speeds up to at least 28 miles per hour, and have 40 to 56 conical, interlocking teeth that curve back toward the throat. Contrary to popular belief, the killer whale's teeth are not razor-sharp: each tooth is the size of a human, and just about as sharp.
Vocal animals, killer whales communicate with clicks, whistles and pulsed calls. However, each pod has its own dialect, and resident whales' sounds are different from those of transient whales.
Transient and resident orcas differ in other ways as well. The tip of a resident killer whale's dorsal fin is rounded, whereas a transient's is pointed. Resident orca pods stay together for a very long time, while transient pods often change members. And the two pods apparently don't breed with one another, leading some biologists to think that the transients are a separate subspecies.

Killer Whale (Orcinus orca)