The killer whale (scientifically known as Orcinus orca) is a large oceanic marine mammal.
This marine mammal is part of the toothed whale (Odontoceti) suborder.
The toothed whale suborder comprises whales, dolphins, and porpoises born with teeth instead of baleen plates.
The killer whale carries the name “whale” in its description.
However, this marine mammal is a dolphin.
Marine biologists also refer to killer wheels as Blackfish or Orca.
Killer whales are one of the most well-recognized animals globally.
People can quickly identify these enormous animals by their large size and distinct black-and-white color pattern.
The killer whale is also the largest animal in the dolphin family.
It’s one of the only cetaceans to attack sharks, whales, and other large marine animals.
Notably, their large size, hunting methods, and distinct appearance help explain why they are so well known and famous.
Killer whales are brilliant, well-organized animals that follow highly complex social structures.
These marine mammals travel in pods, often consisting of large groups of family members that span several generations.
A Killer whale’s social structure is one of the most stable social structures of any animal species.
As a result, researchers sometimes compare killer whales to human and elephant cultures.
The killer whale is an apex or alpha predator because it has no known natural predators.
It means these animals can hunt freely without fear of another marine mammal attacking them.
In other words, when it comes to marine mammals, the killer whale is at the top of the food chain.
Physical Characteristics and Appearance
As stated earlier, the killer whale is the largest animal within the dolphin family.
At full maturity, the male killer whale usually grows to 20 – 26 ft. and weighs roughly 8,000 lbs. – 12,000 lbs.
Comparatively, an adult female killer whale will grow to an average length of 16 – 23 ft. and weigh 3,000 lbs. – 6,000 lbs.
The most enormous recorded killer whale measured 32 feet and weighed over 10 tons!
In terms of physical appearance, killer whales have black backs, white chests and sides, and white circles above and behind their eyes.
Depending on the pod, the killer whale’s dorsal fin is tapered and pointed triangularly or rounded and curved towards the end.
The skull is somewhat oval-shaped, and the beak is extremely short and rounded at the end.
To capture their food, killer whales have powerful jaws with teeth that can tear apart the flesh of their prey.
Their powerful jaws enable them to withstand the jolting, wiggling, and hurtling movements of prey trying to escape.
As previously mentioned, the killer whale belongs to the toothed whale family.
As a result, these dolphins are born with a single blowhole instead of the two blowholes baleen whales possess.
These aquatic animals have a stocky build that is widest in the center and tapers towards the body’s upper and lower ends.
The killer whale has paddle-shaped flippers with rounded ends to assist with swimming.
In addition, their flukes taper back and point at the end like a wide triangle or pyramid.
Diet and Hunting Methods
Killer whales feast on various small aquatic life forms to maintain their energy.
It includes such as fish, squid, and octopus.
They also consume larger marine animals such as sea lions, seals, aquatic birds, penguins, whales, dolphins, and sharks.
That said, a killer whale’s diet often depends on its region, and their diets can change dramatically in different areas.
For instance, living in resident pods, killer whales typically consume fish and squid diets.
In contrast, killer whales living on transient pods primarily consume marine mammals.
Offshore pods also stick to a fish diet in most cases.
However, physical scarring on these marine mammals shows they may hunt other mammals and sharks.
Like the types of prey they hunt, the killer whale’s food intake can vary significantly from one group to another.
Depending on their age and diet, killer whales can eat anywhere from 2% to 10% of their body weight in food daily.
One study suggests that calves (newborn dolphins) eat more food in body weight than adult dolphins.
It enables newborn dolphins to grow and develop quickly.
Group Dynamics
To obtain their meals, killer whales often hunt in groups.
While hunting for food, killer whales will base their strategies on their prey.
As a result, they use different methods to capture distinct types of prey.
Killer whales often work in spaced-out groups when hunting dolphins.
They organize to isolate the dolphin and exhaust them until it is out of energy and can no longer run.
Nevertheless, some of the dolphins they hunt are speedy swimmers.
To capture these dolphins, killer whales take turns chasing them to conserve their energy while the dolphin slowly tires out.
Once the dolphin can no longer run, the killer whale may rush in, charge the dolphin, hit it, or flip it into the air.
Flipping the dolphin over immobilizes it so the killer whale can go in for the kill without being attacked or injured.
Despite being dolphins themselves killer whales will hunt other dolphin species as a form of food.
When hunting sharks, one group of killer whales may attempt to distract the shark.
It enables the other killer whale to sneak up from behind or beneath the shark to flip it upside down.
Once they flip the shark over, it cannot attack or move, leaving it defenseless and an easy meal.
It protects the killer whale from being hurt and maximizes its capture success.
As stated earlier, killer whales sometimes hunt large whales.
In these situations, a group of killer whales may attempt to distract a whale pod from separating a child from its parents.
The small defenseless child ultimately makes a more manageable meal than giant whales that are too difficult to defeat.
Some fascinating animals and species found in the stomach of killer whales include:
- Seabirds
- Whales
- Dolphins
- Reptiles
- Polar Bears
- Moose
- Sharks
Echolocation
In addition to hunting in groups, killer whales may also use echolocation to capture their prey.
When searching for food underwater or at night, echolocation becomes the dominant sense for locating prey and maneuvering around objects in the dark ocean.
Since echolocation uses sound and not sight, it acts as a primary sense when they cannot use vision.
Echolocation not only assists with locating prey but also allows them to survey the location of other killer whales.
It enables them to plan their attacks based on their location and distance from the prey they are collectively hunting.
All dolphin species use echolocation to replace vision, which is extremely important among species with poor eyesight.
Habitat and Migration
Killer whales typically live in cold ocean waters.
However, these marine mammals exist throughout the world’s major oceans.
Killer whale pods span from the Arctic and Antarctic waters to tropical regions in and around the equator;
Nevertheless, these marine mammals prefer living in higher latitude environments.
Their habitat and range of food often determine the location of killer whales.
The food killer whales consume often depends on the killer whales’ location and which foods inhibit the local area.
For instance, killer whales in places rich in sea lions, walruses, penguins, and seals consume these animals as their food source.
In contrast, killer whales consume fish, squid, and octopus in habitats rich in these marine animals.
Coastal and Offshore Killer Whales
In addition to living throughout many of the world’s major oceans, killer whales live in coastal and offshore environments.
Some killer whales inhabit coastal waters near the shoreline primarily.
Others prefer to live further to the sea, far away from the coastal waters.
Coastal and offshore killer whales comprise three distinct pods: resident, transient and offshore.
Resident pods live in coastal waters annually and consume fish and squid as their primary diet.
On the other hand, transient pods consistently change their environment and diet based on nearby aquatic animals.
As the name suggests, offshore pods live in offshore environments far from the coastline.
Offshore pods consume fish primarily but may also hunt and eat other marine mammals.
Regardless of the type of pod a killer whale belongs to, these marine mammals maintain close family bonds.
As many as four generations live together in a single pod.
A pod comprises a child, its parents, grandparents, and friends, and they rarely separate except to hunt for food or mate.
When one pod member successfully kills, it shares its meal with other family and friends.
In addition, when one pod member is in danger, other family members will help them.
The close social structure of these marine mammals makes them one of the most successful hunters.
In terms of migration, killer whales typically migrate to areas where their food supply migrates.
As a result, their seasonal migration patterns may vary depending on the species they’re hunting.
Migrating for food is generally more critical than migrating for mating purposes.
Mating and reproducing can occur for these marine mammals at any time of the year.
Social Structure and Communication
Researchers often compare the killer whale’s social structure complexity to elephants and humans.
Depending on the killer whale’s pod (resident, transient or offshore), these aquatic animals hunt groups of 6 – 40.
In larger pods, as many as four generations of family members travel within a single group.
It includes the children, parents, and grandparents of a single family.
Killer whales protect their young furiously as humans, wolves, and elephants.
These marine mammals will attack outsiders if they feel threatened.
When traveling in large groups, killer whales leave their pods only for short periods (a few hours) to forage for food or mate.
It can occur when an adult killer whale of a small pod needs to feed their children.
The killer whale may search for a sea mammal, such as a seal or sea lion, and bring the food back to feed the rest of the pod.
Larger killer whale groups may hunt using complex methods to isolate, attack and capture their prey.
Group Interaction
Communication involves a series of clicks and whistles to inform other dolphins of vital information.
The vocal communication between killer whale groups varies from one pod (resident, transient or offshore) to the next.
Killer whales also communicate with various physical and visual gestures.
It includes light touches, jumping out of the water, lunging, charging, lob-tailing, or spy-hopping.
Verbal and physical communication allows these aquatic animals to display various interests, wants, and needs.
Mating, Reproduction and Lifespan
When giving birth, a female killer whale’s average gestation period lasts 15 – 18 months (the average is about 17 months).
During delivery, the child is often born tail first to minimize its chances of drowning.
However, there are cases of killer whales being born head first.
After birth, the mother nurses and feeds the young killer whale a diet of thick fatty milk.
The baby killer whale will receive these nutrients by suckling from its mother’s nipple.
The fatty milk possesses all the nutrients the child needs during its early life stages to develop into a healthy young dolphin.
Once the child reaches a certain development level, it may begin hunting for food with other pod members.
It enables them to consume solid foods such as fish, seals, or sea lions hunted by their parents.
After several years, the child will eventually develop into a young adult and begin reproducing its offspring.
Maturation
Both male and female killer whales mature around the age of 15.
However, males usually start reproducing around the ages of 19 – 21.
After reaching sexual maturity and becoming impregnated, the female killer whale usually produces a single offspring.
Reproduction typically occurs every 3 – 5 years until they reach 40 or cannot reproduce.
These marine mammals may give birth to twins on rare occasions, but this is extremely rare.
In terms of lifespan, killer whales can live for an average of 50 to 80 years in the wild.
However, female killer whales have longer lifespans than their male counterparts.
Killer whales living in captivity often have a lifespan of 25 – 30.
What about False Killer Whales?
The false killer whale is named due to its resemblance to the killer whale.
Killer whales share some physical similarities in appearance and prey choices like fish (when it comes to food).
However, they are very different species and are not closely related to actual killer whales.
Both killer and false killer whales are significant compared to other dolphin species.
They also have dark grey/black skin.
As a result, some people confuse these marine animals and believe they are seeing an actual killer whale.
The false killer whale is the third-largest dolphin and can reach lengths up to 20 ft. long.
That said, their average length is approximately 15 – 17 ft. long.
At a glance, killer and false killer whales resemble one another regarding appearances.
However, the false killer whale has a more streamlined body than the stockier killer whale and is solid black/dark grey.
The killer whale has white spots around its eyes, lower jaw, and belly.
They also have a larger dorsal fin than the false killer whale, which is straight or rounded depending on their pod.
Less is known regarding the false killer whale’s diet.
However, rare observations suggest that they may also hunt dolphins and possibly baby whales from time to time.
Observations of false killer whales interacting with other dolphin species have revealed that they may show aggression.
Sometimes false killer whales will attempt to kill other dolphin species within their range.
Nonetheless, the reason for this is not fully understood other than as a potential food source.
For more information on these marine mammals, check out our article on the false killer whale.
An Overview of Albino Killer Whales
When it comes to white or albino killer whales, these marine mammals are scarce.
Only one documented case of an all-white killer whale goes by the name “Iceberg” due to its appearance.
The first documented case of the Iceberg (the albino killer whale) occurred in 2010 in the commander islands.
Since then, there have occasionally been observations of him traveling in various locations.
Aside from his striking appearance, he maintains the same social and physiological characteristics as other killer whales.
It includes his diet, social structure, and behavior.
If you want to learn more about Icebergs, read our article on the white killer whale.
Killer Whales in Captivity
In captivity, killer whales are one of the most popular marine mammals to inhibit confined environments.
It makes killer whales a favored study for marine biologists and conservationists.
Due to their size, intelligence, playfulness, and trainability, killer whales have become popular at aquariums and theme parks.
While spectators and trainers adore them, activists, organizations, and conservationists consider keeping killer whales in captivity cruel.
They argue that keeping them in captivity creates stress due to their need for social interaction, open space, and family.
Living in natural open spaces is extremely important for killer whales’ health and well-being.
Like humans and elephants, these marine mammals also crave social interaction and family to survive and thrive.
A killer whale’s life expectancy in captivity is 2/3 shorter than in the wild.
As a result, many killer whales live only until their 20s as opposed to those that live in the wild for 50 – 80 years.
While held in captivity, several recorded cases have also been of killer whales attacking their trainers.
In these cases, killer whales pull the trainers underwater, with at least one attack leading to a trainer’s death.
Although trainer attacks are rare, marine parks implemented additional steps to prevent future situations.
Killer Whales in The Wild
Even though killer whales are known for consuming other mammals, they do not appear to threaten humans.
Mostly, killer whales do not appear interested in hunting or pursuing humans.
There have only been a handful of attacks recorded by killer whales in the wild.
These attacks may occur due to the killer whale mistaking a human for its usual prey.
Once the killer whale realized it was not their food, they stopped pursuing the human and moved on.
Nevertheless, killer whales may attack humans if they feel threatened or are starving.
Never approach them in the water, regardless of the situation.
Although killer whales have attacked humans on rare occasion there is no evidence suggesting that killer whales eat people or hunt them for food.
Killer Whale Attacks
Although killer whales are known for their hunting methods, they are unlikely to attack humans.
Most killer whale attacks have occurred between a trainer and a killer whale during training at a marine park.
Nevertheless, it is possible (however infrequent) that an attack may occur in the wild.
Only a handful of cases exist regarding killer whales attacking humans in the wild.
These attacks often result from a killer whale misidentifying a human as a marine mammal.
They may also attack because they feel threatened or become aggressive due to being isolated in a small environment.
Killer whales separated from their family, like those held captive or at marine parks, are sometimes more aggressive.
Even though these attacks occur occasionally, many do not result from killer whales being naturally aggressive.
Instead, it results from mistaking humans for other marine animals or becoming aggressive due to isolation or threats.
Interestingly none of these attacks resulted in the killer whale ever trying to eat or consume a human.
Only a few cases required stitching due to bite marks from an attack.
The only recorded cases of a human killed by a killer whale involved a whale pulling its trainer below the water, causing the person to drown.
Why Don’t Killer Whales Hunt/Eat Humans?
It remains a mystery to scientists in marine biologists why killer whales are not interested in human flesh.
It is unknown why killer whales are not interested in attacking or eating humans.
However, some scientists speculate that killer whales do not have a taste for human flesh.
Humans also do not resemble any animal that they would generally bother attacking and consuming.
Therefore we are not considered a form of edible food.
Another assumption is that killer whales have a code of ethics that respects humans morally.
Therefore, killer whales do not bother trying to attack humans without a sufficient reason.
While killer whales possess the ability to be vicious and aggressive, they can also be rather friendly and cooperative.
People often see it at marine parks where killer whales perform tricks and acrobatic feats through their trainers’ commands.
Although they’re isolated from their natural habitat, killer whales often remain passive.
Killer whales are known to be outgoing and friendly due to television, marine parks, and entertainment exhibits.
However, it is always important to be cautious around these marine mammals.
Do not try to interact or play with them in the wild, as they can be unpredictable.
If they feel threatened, they may choose to defend themselves.