HUNTING STYLE

The orca is a great predator. The orca travels in pods while hunting, which is similar to the wolf. This is why they are called the "wolves of the sea." Orcas are at the very top of the food chain. They have speed, agility, and intelligence. As shown here on the left, they are known to beach themselves temporarily just to grab a seal.

BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS

Humans who hunt whales are called whalers. Whalers target orcas for their meat and oil. Russia, Japan and Norway took a total of 5,537 whales from 1938 to 1981. Whale hunting has since been outlawed; however, two to three whales are still taken every year in Greenland. Orcas are also taken from the wild and put in amusement parks, but this is usually done to educate people about these wonderful creatures. Another reason this is done is so the orcas can be bred in captivity. A present danger for the orca is the fishing industry. The orca's main prey is the fish. This puts them in direct competition with fishermen for the fish.. The worst problem for the orca is oil and pollution. Oil tankers sometimes run aground, and when they do, oil seeps out of the great ships. The orca gets confused because of the oil and beaches itself ,OR the oil gets down their blowhole, taking it into the lungs. Oil isn't just bad for orcas. It is just bad for everything in the environment.

The orca has many different behaviors. They have been seen gliding along on waves and boat wakes. To get a better view of things, the orca does something called spy hopping; positioning himself vertically and propelling himself with his fluke until his head is out of the water. Have you ever seen a whale jump up out of the water and land on its side? If you have, it is called breaching. Scientists are trying to find out why whales breach. They also do something called lobtailing; the orca positions itself upside down in the water exposing only its fluke.