Orca

(Orcinus orca)

The orca or "killer whale" is a carnivorous mammal. It has a diet of fish, squid, sharks, seals, turtles, and birds. Sometimes whole pods of orcas will feast on young blue whales. Orcas are toothed whales which means that it has teeth to chew prey before it is swallowed. Orcas have approximately 50 teeth, and they are each about 3 inches long. Killer whales eat a wide variety of marine animals, and has only one predator; humans.

When killer whales are full grown, they are of enormous size. a full grown male is slightly larger than a full grown female. Males get up to 32 feet long, and females grow up to be 28 feet long.

Killer whales usually reproduce in the winter to early spring. It takes about 16 to 17 months for an orca calf to be born. As soon as the calf is born, it swims to the surface for its first breath by instinct. Its mother helps it to swim with her flippers. Within 30 minutes of when the calf is born, it can swim. A newborn orca is about 8 feet long and weighs up to 400 pounds. Since whales are mammals, they are nursed by their mother's milk. Twin orcas are hardly ever born, usually only one calf is born at a time. When a calf is born, the tail comes out first. It is born near the surface as most whales are.

Orcas are in the family of Delphinidae. Here is a complete scientific classification:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Cetea

Suborder: Odontoceti

Family:Delphinidae

Genus: Orcinus

Species: Orca

Orcas are easily recognized since they are mostly black with patches.

Killer whales communicate with each other using a wide variety of squeals and clicks called echo location. The pods, or groups of whales, need a good way to communicate since they consist from 3 to 50 members. They also use whistles and "screams" that bounce off prey so they can find them.

Orcas live in water from tropical to arctic oceans. They are in no danger of becoming endangered, and hopefully they never will.

Click on the checker board to go to the orca game.

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