Orcas Trivia

Study Notes

Killer whales are the largest members of the dolphin family.
Orcas are among the most widely distributed mammals on the planet and occupy every ocean.
Orcas use echolocation to identify their prey by creating sounds, or sound waves, that travel through the water.
Killer whales are rarely known to kill humans, as humans are not part of their natural diet.
In 2017, an orca was caught on camera charging at a surfer during the Lofoten Masters surfing competition in Norway.
In 2005, a 12-year-old boy was "bumped" by a killer whale near Ketchikan, Alaska, but it is not known if the orca attacked him.
Killer whales are the most widely distributed mammals, other than humans and possibly brown rats, and can be found in every ocean around the world.
Killer whales live in family groups called pods and have adapted to different climates, from the warm waters near the equator to the icy waters of the North and South Pole regions.
There are different types of orca, known as ecotypes, which may actually be different species or subspecies.
Female killer whales give birth to one offspring at a time every three to 10 years and have an average life span of 50 years.
Offshore orcas can also be found in the North Pacific.
Orcas are a type of whale that are found in the oceans around the world.
There are five different orcas subspecies, or types, and each subspecies has its own specific diet.
Orcas are endangered, and their conservation status is unknown.
Orcas are hunted for their meat and their skin, and they are also threatened by human activities and contaminants in the ocean.
Some orcas, like Tilikum, are involved in human deaths.
Keiko was the first orca to be successfully released back into the wild, and he is now living in the ocean off the coast of Iceland.
Another famous orca, Iceberg, was spotted in the waters around the Commander Islands.
In 2010, researchers at the Far East Russia Orca Project discovered an albino orca in the waters off the east coast of Russia.
It is not known for certain if the albino orca is a sign of inbreeding in the population, but it could indicate the orcas' endangered status.
Killer whales are listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. If you want to help save them, you can learn more about their conservation at the Center for Whale Research.