The killer whale is the largest marine mammal in the dolphin family.
At full maturity, the killer whale can grow to lengths of up to 30 ft. long and weigh as much as 10 tons!
When it comes to their habitat, the killer whale can be seen swimming in all of the world’s major oceans,
However, they tend to prefer living in coastal waters and cool regions.
Killer whales can also be spotted swimming in warmer environments such as Hawaii, Australia,
The Bahamas and the Gulf of Mexico.
As a species, the killer whale is one of the most widely distributed mammals in the world, next to humans.
Unlike other species of dolphin, killer whales are known to migrate primarily with their food supply to maintain their diets, compared to other species that migrate for mating purposes.
In some colder locations, killer whales have also been spotted migrating to avoid large patches of ice that develop during the freezing winter.
Unfortunately, when it comes to worldwide distribution, it is difficult to get an accurate count of the number of killer whales in existence, but that is a common difficulty researchers tend to face regarding oceanic animals.
Killer Whale Pods
Killer whales’ pod orientation and living locations have been divided into three primary types.
Resident Pods
These pods tend to live in a fixed location throughout the year.
Since they can be found in coastal waters, they are also one of the most studied of the three types.
Resident pods primarily eat fish and sometimes squid as their primary source of diet.
Offshore Pods
Offshore pods prefer to live away from the coastal environment and are thus more difficult to find and research.
They tend to hunt large schools of fish due to the appearance of hunting wounds on their body.
They may also track other marine mammals and sharks.
Transient Pods
These pods continually change their living environment and structure.
Unlike resident pods, they usually swim in smaller pod sizes, and their diet tends to consist primarily of other marine mammals.
They rarely consume fish.
Family Structure
Killer whale pods tend to be very family oriented and can often be found traveling with other family members, especially the mother.
At times as many as four generations of family members can be seen swimming in a single pod.
These marine mammals rarely separate from their pod except to hunt for food or find a mating partner.
The killer whale is family-oriented, has a well-developed social hierarchy, and maintains a complex culture.
Groups are known to show deep emotional bonds with one another and will share food with their family when they’ve made a successful kill.
The killer whale is one of the most intelligent societies ever studied. Their society has even been compared to humans and elephants regarding social structure, hierarchy, communication, and intelligence.