|
|
         |
Orcinus Orca
Description The Orca is mostly black with white patches, Orcas have stocky bodies and a rounded head...They have a tall (sickle-shaped) dorsal fin and large, paddle like flippers...The dorsal fin of the male is more upright than the female, and up to 6ft tall, where the female's is up to 4ft tall...The Orca is a toothed whale that is an efficient predator, even attacking young blue whales...Orcas live in small, close knit, life long pods...A pod may have less than 5 to more than 30 individuals...
Size (Weight/Height) The female averages 5-7m (16-23ft) long and averages 1,361-3,629kg (3,000-8,000lbs) The male averages 7-8m (23-36ft) long and averages 3,600-5,400kg (8,000-12,000lbs)
Classification Orcas (Orcinus Orca) are toothed whales (Suborder Odontoceti), they are one of 76 cetacean species and are marine mammals...This species was named by Linnaeus in 1758...
Social Behavior The Orca is a very social animal, the bond between the close knit members of the Orca pods are strong and last for life...The members of the pod hunt together in a very sophisticated manner, as well as protecting the young, the sick and the injured...
Diet/Teeth
Orcas are efficient hunters and eat a
diet of fish, squid, sharks, seals, turtles, octopi, birds like the penquin and
gulls...An average sized Orca will eat 551 pounds (250kg) of food per day...
Reproduction Orca breeding occurs mostly in Winter to early Spring, the gestation period is about 16-17months, and the calf is born tail first...The newborn instinctively swims to the surface within 10 seconds for it's first breath...Within 30 minutes of it's birth the baby whale can swim, the newborn calf is about 6-8ft long and weighing up to 400 pounds (180kg)...The calf is nurtured with it's mothers milk and mother and calf may stay together for a year or two...
Habitat/Range Orcas are found in all the oceans of the world, and favor coastal temperate or cool waters, although they're most abundant in the Artic and Antarctic...Orcas do not migrate in the sense as Baleen whales, but have seasonal movements, which are tied into prey movement and environmental changes...
Maturity/Life Span Female Orcas reach maturity at 6-10 years old and have a life expectancy of 90 years... Male Orcas reach maturity at 12-16 years old and have a life expectancy of 50-60 years... Researchers have been studying the population dynamics of Killer Whale pods...They can identify individuals by taking pictures of the whale's dorsal fins, noting differences in shape, relative size, scars and deformities...
Activities
Ending Notes
The only known enemy to the Orca is man
himself...Capture of Orcas for display has become controversial and more
restricted...Warner Brother's hit film "Free Willy" prompted people
from all over the world to demand that Keiko (The Film's Star) be moved to a
better home and eventually returned to the wild...Never before has a captive
|
Orcas
can dive to a depth of 100ft (30m) in order to hunt...Orcas commonly swim at
very fast speeds (up to 30mph) towards the surface in order to rise above the
water, then fall back into the water, splashing and making noise...Spyhopping
(poking the head out of the water to look around), tail slapping is also a
common Orca activity...