Killer Whale (Orca)

Killer Whale facts and information:

Type: Mammal
Diet: Carnivore
Average lifespan in the wild: 50 to 80 years
Size: 23 to 32 ft (7 to 9.7 m)
Weight: up to 6 tons (5,443 kg)
Group name: Pod

What does a Orca look like?

Orcas are immediately recognizable by their distinctive black-and-white coloring and are the intelligent, trainable stars of many aquarium shows. It has all of the black on the top and on the dorsalfin and the tail and all the white is on the bottom and kind of on the side. They are medium sized just bigger then a car. Killer whales have never been extensively hunted by humans.

Killer Whale (Orca) video.

Where do Orcas live?

Orcas, or killer whales as they are sometimes known as, are found in all the oceans of the world. Orcas live in waters ranging from tropical to arctic, and both coastal and deep oceanic waters. They are found in all the world's oceans and most of the seas. I've personally seen Orcas on the West coast of the U.S., Canada, and in New Zealand.

What does a Orca eat?

Orcas, or killer whales, are the largest of the dolphins and one of the world's most powerful predators. They feast on marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, and even whales, employing teeth that can be four inches (ten centimeters) long. They are known to grab Killer Whale image

seals right off the ice. They also eat fish, squid, and seabirds. Orcas have perfected several inventive techniques to catch their prey. One method is for large groups of orcas to work as a team to herd victims together before attacking from different angles. Orcas will also frequently force seals and sea lions to beach, giving the hunter an easy catch in the shallow water. Tipping over ice floes to unbalance a tasty meal is another trick.

Did you know this about Orca's?

Orcas are divided into three types: "resident orcas," which eat fish and squid; "transient orcas," which eat marine mammals; and the recently discovered "offshore orcas," which eat fish, sharks and sea turtles.
Some orcas prey on birds, such as cormorants, penguins and sea gulls. They have been observed regurgitating fish onto the water's surface to attract sea gulls and then eat them.
Adult orcas weigh, on average, between 5,700 to 16,000 pounds. The largest orca on record, a male, weighed over 8 tons (17,636 pounds).
Different orca populations can have very different vocal behavior, hunting techniques and social behavior. These behaviors are learned and passed on to subsequent generations, much like human culture.
This is a social animal and it swims the oceans in large family groups, called pods, of approximately 30 mixed-sex individuals, although pods of over 150 orcas have been spotted.