Killer Whale Facts

The Killer Whale is also called the Orca and sometimes as the Blackfish or Seawolf. The biological name is Orcinus orca. The origin of the word Orcinus is Orcus, the god of the netherworld in Roman mythology. Orca implies resembling the shape of a cask or barrel. This whale is included in the oceanic dolphin family - Delphinidae. It can adapt itself to all oceans on the globe and is noted to be the most widely distributed mammal after the humans. The maximum density is found in the Arctic, the Antarctic and cold water regions. The reason of calling the whale as "Killer" is that it has powerful jaws as well as very strong teeth that fit adjacent to each other and this enables them to eat other animals. They also eat other whales. Hence, the name as "whale killer". This was reversed to "Killer Whale". The black and white coloration of the killer whale serves as a camouflage. When seen from the top, the black back mixes well with the dark water beneath them. When seen from the bottom, the white belly blends with the sunlit water above them.

Killer Whale facts
Some of the elementary Killer Whale facts are described below in the following order -

1. Physical features and senses
2. Behavior
3. Food
4. Reproduction

Physical features and senses
Male Killer Whales have an average length of 5.8 to 6.7 meters and weight from 3628 to 5442 kg. Female Killer Whales are 4.9 to 5.8 meters long and 1361 to 3628 kg in weight. The whale has a smooth, lustrous, streamlined body that is tapered at the two ends. The rounded forelimbs are called Pectoral flippers. Their main function is to steer and stop with the aid of flukes. Fluke refers to each lobe of the tail. The dorsal fin can be wavy, scarred, twisted, curved or totally bent. It is guessed that this fin stabilizes the killer whale at elevated speeds. These whales are gifted with a keen ability to hear. They have reacted to sound in the range of 0.5 to 125 kHz. This sound is received by the soft tissue and bone near the ear. Above 50 kHz, the lower jaw works as an efficient receptor. These whales are also endowed with good vision inside and outside the water. However, they cannot smell.

Behavior
The social groups of killer whales are called pods. The size of a pod is 5 to 30. Each pod comprises males, females and young ones of diverse ages. Females and youngsters stay at the center of the pod and males are side. There are also subpods. One subpod includes mothers and daughters as well as possibly sisters and cousins. A subpod also consists of a maternal group. This maternal group has a mother and her child excluding adult daughters with their offspring. Small pods may unite to form 50-500 individuals and these are called aggregations or herds. Pods in a specific region with similar dialects form a "clan".

Food
Undoubtedly, killer whales are one of the most active, opportunistic and top predators in marine environment. They are the largest predators of warm-blooded animals. Sea lions, seals, squids, fish, penguins, otters, sea turtles, birds, walruses, reptiles, polar bears, cetaceans and moose form the diet of a killer whale. Adults consume 3-4% of the body weight per day. Completely weaned calves need 10% of the body weight in the growth period. Individuals surround the prey and then attack it. In case of a large whale, members of the pod attack it from various angles.

Reproduction
Females attain sexual maturity when they reach the age of 6-10 years. They are usually 4.6 to 4.9 meters at this time. When males attain the age of 10-13 years , they are said to be sexually mature. In this age group, their length is 5.5 to 6.1 meters. Social factors is an important criterion in a male's breeding triumph. Killer Whales are polygamous. Summer is the common breeding season.

Killer Whale attacks
There is an instance that a boy swimming in Alaska was attacked by a killer whale. Secondly, the photographer of Terra Nova expedition was standing on a floe and the orca tried to tip it. It is generally found that killer whale attacks are common regarding the captive orcas rather than wild orcas. The former charge their handlers or intruders.

Killer whales are not endangered and also not proved to be perilous for humans. So there is a huge opportunity to research more about them and upgrade our knowledge regarding their life and habitat.