The Orca – The Killer Whale
Orcas are mammals, which means they fur, lungs, and the mother feeds her young with milk. Whales have been known to beach themselves, and when they beach themselves, they usually die. Orcas may be mammals and have lungs so they can breathe air, but they still need to the water running over them to keep them from drying out.
Orcas belong to the dolphin family; they are also the largest dolphin in the world. The male orca grows to be an average of thirty-three feet long, and the female grows to be an average of twenty-six feet long. Their dorsal fins are much, much higher then a dolphin’s dorsal fin. A male orca’s dorsal fin height can be as high as six feet. A female orca’s dorsal fin height stays around four feet high.
Orcas have forty-eight teeth on each row, on their upper and lower jaw. These giants have a very large appetite; the average adult orca eats an average of five hundred pounds of food a day. A younger orca, maybe around the age of two, will almost be able to reach that same amount of food. Orcas ear all kinds of animals in and out of the water. The orca’s main preys are dolphins, porpoise, krill, fish, squid, and other larger animals like the blue whale, sea birds, sharks, walrus, and the harbor seal.
Orcas live in costal and open waters; they range from South America, North America, Canada, Asia, Australia, artic, Antarctic, Europe, and Africa. Orcas are very common in places like the Antarctic, Artic, and Canada.
Orcas use clicks, whistles, and pulses to communicate with each together. Orcas never leave one another behind, they stay together like families even if they aren’t. Orcas can also use these clicks, whistles, and pulses to find their food.
The population of orcas is unknown, but they think there are plenty of them in the world. You would think such a fearsome animal wouldn’t be vulnerable to other prey, but they are. Humans have killed a number of orcas, because of the whale’s beautiful patterns. Orcas are also very vulnerable since they are so kind to humans, they’ll come right up to the boats, and they’re killed by the boat or they’re killed by us.
A female orca can give birth at the age of thirteen years old. She can have one or more babies at a time, but usually just one. A newborn orca is called a calf. When an orca is born it is anywhere from four to eight feet in length, and it can weigh anywhere from four to six hundred pounds. Orcas are very protective of their young, and will any other animal that tried to harm it. It takes a newborn orca about ten seconds to swim up to the surface for their first breath. Calves won’t start swimming around for about an hour after it’s born.
These massive marine mammals weigh a tremendous amount. The male orca weighs an average of sixteen thousand pounds, and the female orca weighs an average of ten thousand pounds.
The orca lives a lot longer then your average aquarium fish. The male orca live to be thirty through fifty years of age, and the female orca lives to be fifty through eighty years of age.
Orcas migrate every year for nesting and feeding grounds. They travel a total of on hundred miles, including the young. The orca can swim as fast as thirty miles per hour. So, if they were to swim to there new grounds without a break it would only take them about three and half hours to reach their new destination.
There are two different types of orca, the Resident orca, and the Transient orca. Some people say there are three types of orca, but the third that they’re talking about is a false killer whale. No matter what type of orca it is, it’ll still have the same beauty.
