Common
Name: Orca
Also Known as: Killer Whale
Scientific Name: Orcinus orca
Habitat: Cold Coastal Areas or Polar Water to the Equator
Weight: 4-6 tons
Diet: Carnivores
Conservation Status: Data deficient
Threats: Whaling Efforts
Deadly Hunters or Social Dolphins?
What's Threatening Orcas?
Humans are threatening orcas. The species are threatened every year by whaling efforts and pollution. Orca calfs as well as adult orcas are susceptible to getting tangled in fishing nets as well as colliding with fishing boats. This can damage their fins which they must use to swim and keep afloat. Whaling efforts also cause them to be captured and sold to oceanariums like SeaWorld. This occurs around the world, especially in the Pacific Northwest, North Atlantic, and the Pacific waters off of Russia.
Why Orcas Must be Protected?
Orca females give birth only every 3-10 years and keep their young close. This makes it vulnerable to whaling efforts or hunting. Furthermore, due to their size, captive orcas only have an avergae life span of 13 years. This is due to the lack of a highly social life in which they are used to as well as a lack of space.
Also Known as: Killer Whale
Scientific Name: Orcinus orca
Habitat: Cold Coastal Areas or Polar Water to the Equator
Life
Span in the Wild: 50 - 60 years
Life Span in Captivity: 13 years
Size: 23
-32 ftWeight: 4-6 tons
Diet: Carnivores
Conservation Status: Data deficient
Threats: Whaling Efforts
What Do We Know About Orca
Habitat and Diet?
Orcas are
mainly found in cold coastal waters but can be sighted
in colder regions to the equator. These killer whales
survive off of fish, dolphins, sea lions, seals,
seabirds and other large whales.
Orcas are actually both! They travel in deadly
pods of up to 40 whales and are efficient
hunters. These creatures however, are also
quite social. They can travel up to 160
kilometers daily socializing and hunting. The
name, killer whale, is derived from its
scientific name, Orcinus orca.
In Latin, this means a "whale of the kingdom
of the dead". However, these creatures, though
not soft and cuddly, are not vicious hunters
as is portrayed by mariners or the media. Orca
pods even communicate through a series of
sounds distinctive to each pod.
Humans are threatening orcas. The species are threatened every year by whaling efforts and pollution. Orca calfs as well as adult orcas are susceptible to getting tangled in fishing nets as well as colliding with fishing boats. This can damage their fins which they must use to swim and keep afloat. Whaling efforts also cause them to be captured and sold to oceanariums like SeaWorld. This occurs around the world, especially in the Pacific Northwest, North Atlantic, and the Pacific waters off of Russia.
Why Orcas Must be Protected?
Orca females give birth only every 3-10 years and keep their young close. This makes it vulnerable to whaling efforts or hunting. Furthermore, due to their size, captive orcas only have an avergae life span of 13 years. This is due to the lack of a highly social life in which they are used to as well as a lack of space.
Click the image below to
watch an orca hunting clip!
