The killer whale is a massive dolphin known to inhibit all parts of the world.
These massive animals earned their name as killer whales because they are enormous and powerful marine mammals known to consume a wide variety of prey.
These dolphins eat everything from small fish to large marine mammals and sharks.
When it comes to their pod or social group, killer whales are often known for traveling in large packs together.
They are a very family-oriented species that crave communication and interaction with other killer whales.
From birth until their old, these marine mammals spend a large majority of their time together, whether it’s to play around, forage for food, mate with other killer whales (outside of their pod) or rest.
Killer whales are a closely-knit species that are highly intelligent and are known to develop lifelong bonds with one another.
Some groups may contain as many as four generations of family members.
When finding food, killer whales can often be found hunting together as a team, creating strategies to capture their prey.
They work together to isolate, tire out, and immobilize their prey and share their food with other family or pod members.
Sometimes these dolphins may separate from their pod or join another pod to look for food but return to their pod once they’re done.
In these cases, an adult member may go off and hunt for food while their child stays with other pod members waiting to be fed by the returning adult.
As stated earlier, when they are not hunting for food, these dolphins spend their time playing, resting, and socializing with one another.
When an individual in their pod dies, other killer whales may feel lost or sorrowful for the dead dolphin.
These marine animals may also temporarily separate to seek a mating partner, as they do not like to interbreed with other killer whales within the same pod.
However, as with hunting for food, they will return to their pod after finding a mating partner and mating with them.
Unlike other marine mammals that prefer a solitary lifestyle, it’s part of the killer whale’s nature to be connected with other killer whales.
Isolation and separation cause some killer whales to become aggressive and depressed.
These marine animals crave the open waters and the connected feeling of being around other killer whales, just as humans crave freedom and culture.
The culture of killer whales has been compared to those of elephants and humans, as different groups may have hierarchies, interests, activities, personalities, and diets.
In conclusion, killer whales are a social group of marine mammals that enjoy interacting and spending time together.
They can develop lifelong relationships and express sorrow when another pod member becomes hurt or dies.
Their bonds are so deep that as many as four generations of family members may be seen together in a single pod, and they rarely ever separate except to hunt for food or mate.
They protect each other, play with one another and help their kind survive, and with no natural predators, the killer whale is an apex predator.
Habitat and Diversity
Regarding where killer whales can be found, these marine mammals can be found traveling all over the world throughout the major oceans.
Still, they primarily enjoy living in cool temperate waters that provide abundant food sources.
The food they eat can vary dramatically depending on where the killer whale pod lives.
Killer whales living in areas primarily surrounded by fish and squid will consume those types of food as their primary diet.
In contrast, killer whales that live primarily in areas inhabited by marine animals such as seals, sea lions, penguins, walruses, and other marine animals will mainly hunt and kill those animals for food.
As stated earlier, killer whales have even been known to hunt and kill sharks when hungry and looking for a meal.
As a species, they are known to inhibit coastal and offshore waters.
Migration patterns often depend upon their food sources and where it migrates to rather than migrating for mating purposes.
Based on their location, a killer whale’s pod can be divided into one of three different types of pods.
These pods are referred to as the resident, offshore, and transient pots.
Resident pods live near coastal waters all year long and primarily get their food sources from fish and squid.
Offshore pods can be found inhabiting waters in offshore environments and are believed to hunt both fish and marine mammals.
Transient pods consistently move to different environments and can be observed primarily hunting and consuming marine mammals as their primary diet.
Furthermore, as stated earlier, when it comes to migration, killer whales are much more likely to migrate to maintain their food supply than to find a mating partner.
Killer whales can mate anywhere and anytime, unlike some whale species that have specific feeding/mating periods and migrate to different locations based on their mating season and feeding season.
With that said, there are certain times of the year when dolphin species, such as the killer whale, may prefer to mate more frequently than others.