Orca, commonly referred to as the killer whale and lesser known “blackfish” is one of the most popular dolphins in our history.
Although they can be found swimming throughout all of the worlds major oceans orca typically prefer living in colder regions of the world where they can consume other marine mammals such as sea lions, walruses and other large prey.
Orca that live in warmer tropical regions on the other hand tend to stick to a diet consisting of fish, squid and other small marine animals.
Whether hunting for prey, playing around, resting or traveling throughout the ocean orca are extremely social animals and almost always travel in pods (groups) with other family members and friends.
In fact their complex social structure, organized hunting techniques and long-term relationships is often compared to the social complexities of humans and elephants.
The orcas lifestyle has even been considered by some researchers and marine biologists to have its own culture just like the culture of humans where different pods have different personalities, diets and behaviors.
While these marine mammals are known for traveling in large pods some groups prefer living in larger pods than others.
For instance killer whales that live in offshore pods tend to have anywhere from 25 – 75 pod members in a group while transient pods may contain an average of 2 – 6 pod members in a group.
When it comes to raising their children female orca are very protective of their young and are very family oriented often caring for their calves for several years and remaining very protective of them over the course of their relationship.
In addition to the mother other females within the pod will also care for and protect the calves and as many as four generations of family members may be seen living together in a single pod.
Unlike many other cetacean species orca do not follow any standard migration patterns, they travel where their food is and migrate with their prey.
Also unlike other cetacean species such as the humpback whale which divides its time between feeding season and mating season orca are known for mating all year long regardless of the time of year.
In terms of species orca are the largest marine mammals within the dolphin family.
These large animals can reach lengths of up to 32 ft. long when fully matured.
As a whole orca make up one of around 90 known species of cetacea (cetaceans include whales, dolphins and porpoises) and are one of the only cetaceans (aside from the false killer whale) known to hunt other marine mammals.
In fact in addition to hunting fish orca are also known to hunt sharks, seals, sea lions, walruses, penguins, dolphins, porpoises and even large whales among other marine animals.
The strong hunting methods and close-knit bonds between dolphin pods make these marine mammals one of the best hunters in the animal kingdom.
It also makes them one of the most well-known and adored species of cetacea in existence today.
Orca can be found at specific marine parks and aquariums performing acrobatic feats and following the instructions of their trainers.
Orca are also one of the most popular marine mammals among whale watching enthusiasts.
They’ve even been featured as characters in films such as Free Willy, Happy Feet and Finding Nemo.
Whether or not you’re a fan of orcas it is hard to ignore these amazing marine mammals and the attention they command with their large bodies, acrobatic behaviors and family oriented nature is simply spectacular.
10 orca facts you may not know
1) Having the second heaviest brain of all marine mammals and being able to easily be trained by humans the orca is often considered one of the most intelligent animals alive; even though some researchers believe it is difficult to define the intelligence of other animals when compared human intelligence and language.
2) Lacking any natural predators of their own orca are known as apex predators meaning they are able to hunt other animals without the fear of being hunted themselves.
3) Although they often live in pods ranging from 2 – 30 dolphins orca have been known to travel in pods of up to 50 members or more when traveling or hunting for food and pods are often well-organized and highly social making orca extremely effective hunters in the ocean.
4) Resident pods (living in coastal waters) often prefer hunting for fish and other small prey while transient are more likely to hunt other marine mammals. Offshore pods are known to consume fish but may also hunt sharks and/or marine mammals as scars on their body appear to show fights they’ve had with other large animals.
5) Although orca are most commonly referred to as killer whales they are actually categorized as part of the dolphin family. The killer whale name comes from the fact that these marine mammals are the largest in their category and are one of the only cetaceans known to hunt other marine mammals.
6) Orca are the largest of the dolphin species growing to a length of up to 32 feet and weighing as much as 10 tons.
7) The average life span of a female orca is about 50 years while the average lifespan of a male orca is around 30 years.
8) The orca whale can swim up to 30 miles per hour for short periods of time (often when hunting for fast moving prey) and are able to dive to a depth of 330 ft. or more when searching for food, however the deepest known dive for orca (under experimental conditions) was around 900 ft.
9) Orca typically swim at or near the surface of the water usually diving for no more than 30 seconds and traveling at an average speed of 8 miles per hour or less.
10) Unlike humans that breathe unconsciously orca are considered conscious breathers meaning they never fall completely asleep due to their need to be conscious of their breathing and their environment since they are always surrounded by water; in fact orca are conscious even during periods of rest.