Dolphins and Orcas defy expectations

Dolphins are renowned for their sweet and kind demeanor, while orcas are known for their vicious and barbaric behaviors. But in reality, these are both quite inaccurate.

Orcas and dolphins both are Cetaceans, animals defined by their smooth looks, a tail for propulsion, fins for movement and being marine mammals. They also both fall under the subspecies of Odontoceti, which include the Cetaceans with teeth.

Orcas are humongous creatures, with males reaching weights of 22,000 pounds and lengths of 33 feet! However, despite the nickname ‘Killer Whale,’ there have been zero cases of an orca killing a human in the wild and only a few cases of aggression towards people. Orcas have actually been documented to show curiosity with people, often swimming up to boats of people to watch them with wonder, not malice, in mind.

Dolphins are much smaller than orcas, roughly around 8 feet in length and 300 pounds in weight. In contrast to depictions in media like the 1977 movie ‘Zeus and Roxxane’ or the 1996 movie ‘Flipper’, dolphins have been found to harm people in the wild.

Orca and dolphins are also incredibly intelligent creatures, both in behaviors as well how their brains are physically. Orcas brains are humongous, weighing up to 15 pounds, and have sections that are similar to the human brain but enlarged to the point where it may surpass humans. Dolphin brains are only a bit larger than human brains, weighing around 3.5 pounds compared to the human brain weight of only 3 pounds. Like their orca cousins, dolphin brains are complex and some of the best in the animal kingdom but fall short to the human brain.

However, no wild animal is kind and loving or mean and evil, they simply are wild. You can train an animal to be more docile or act in a friendly manner but an animal is going to do what the animal thinks is fit.