Orca

The magnificent, brilliant killer whale makes its home in every ocean on the planet. But, “killer whale” isn’t accurate, nor does it do the animal justice. Firstly, it’s not a whale, it’s actually a dolphin—a member of the Delphinidae family of mammals. Second of all, there is so much more to the orca than just being a “killer.”

Orcas are unlike many other mammals in that orca sons will often stay with their mothers long after reaching maturity. Daughters, on the other hand, often leave after reaching maturity and mate to start their own families. However, the daughters’ new families will always stay relatively close to their original mother. This group of mothers and their relatives is called a “pod.” This pod always stays in approximately the same area and always has one leading matriarch (usually the oldest female). What is fascinating about these pods is their culture. Each pos of orcas has its own unique dialects, or patterns of clicks and whistles that are used to communicate. Every orca in any given pod will also all eat the same kinds of food. Orcas are apex predators and, as a species, feed on everything from small fish to great white sharks. But, each individual pod has its preferences on size and type of prey, which are passed on through generations. These preferences depend heavily on the environment of the pod and what food is available. Though each pod has a very similar language, orcas can understand other orcas from other pods, just not quite as easily. These larger groupings of pods that have the ability to communicate are called “clans.” Though clans are not based on matrilineality, every orca can understand and socialize with most other orcas in their clan. However, they mostly stay near and hunt with only members of their pod. Made up of many clans, the highest social structure is the “community.” Not based on genetics or linguistics, these very large groups are less specifically defined by scientists, and span over a much greater area. Communities contain from one hundred to thousands of orcas and vary greatly in diet and language patterns. Across the world, it is estimated that there are approximately 50,000 orcas, many of which reside in the North Pacific. However, they can be found in all oceans, more than 5 miles of the coast. Orcas are internationally protected, and it is illegal to kill one, but they are not considered endangered. This is because scientists do not know enough about how many orcas there are or whether populations are decreasing. However, there have been recorded cases of orcas being harmed by chemical pollutants.

Zooming in from the species-wide view, the individual orcas are also quite fascinating. On average, these dolphins measure about 6.5 m (21.3 ft) long and weigh about 5,400 Kg (12,000 lbs), with males tending to be larger than females. They usually live to about 30 years, but there have been cases of orcas living up to almost 60. Like most dolphins, they have two pectoral fins (flippers) on the sides, one dorsal fin on top, and a tail. However, unlike most other dolphins, their skin has a pattern of black and white splotches that gives the orca its unique, zebra-like look. But, this look isn’t just for show. Their mostly black backs help orcas blend in with the deep dark ocean when viewed from above, and their white underbellies help them blend in with the bright ocean ceiling when viewed from below. Camouflage is important because it helps orcas stay hidden from prey. Their superior senses also help to maximize their meals. Incredible eyesight both above and below the water makes spotting prey easy, and echolocation makes feeding even easier during the nighttime. Once the prey is caught, their powerful jaw and sharp teeth make escape impossible.

Orcas, being very social creatures, are known to hunt together with other members of their families. They have even developed a creative strategy for catching prey on top of ice  known as “wave hunting.” The orcas, using their conjoined power, create a wave that can crash over an ice floe and hopefully knock off any unfortunate prey that happens to be sitting there. Each dolphin swims in a line in the same direction towards the ice in spectacular, seemingly choreographed unison, surging up the water behind them. This wave then crashes over the floe and the animals become orca lunch.

Works Cited 

Integrated Taxonomic Information System. (2022, February 25). Orcinus orca. ITIS. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180469#null

NOAA Fisheries. (2020). Killer Whale. NOAA Fisheries; NOAA. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/killer-whale#:~:text=The%20most%20well%2Dstudied%20killer%20whale%20populations%20occur%20in%20the

Whale & Dolphin Conservation USA. (2020). What is an orca pod? Whale & Dolphin Conservation USA. https://us.whales.org/whales-dolphins/what-is-an-orca-pod/