Orcas, also known as killer whales, are toothed whales that travel in family groups called pods. They have distinctive black and white coloring and can grow up to 26 feet long. Orcas are highly intelligent, social animals that communicate and hunt cooperatively in their pods.
3. Characteristics
~ An Orca is a toothed whale belonging to the Oceanic
Dolphin family.
~ Killer whales distinctively bear a black back, white
chest and sides, and a white patch above and behind
the eye.
~ Killer whales have a heavy and robust body.
~Adults reach up to 20-26 feet and can weigh up to 10
tons (20,000 pounds)
4. Characteristics
~Baby Orca’s weigh about 400 pounds at birth and are
about 8 feet long.
~They are very fast and can swim up to 56 km/h.
~Males have long and narrow dorsal fins and females
have short rounded dorsal fins.
~They have excellent eyesight in and out of the water.
5. Characteristics
~ Orca’s have above average hearing and a great sense
of touch.
~They use their hearing for feeding and
communicating.
~They produce a variety of sounds to communicate and
find food.
~They use sonar to bounce “pings” off of their prey to
determine what the prey is.
6. Family
~Orca’s travel in families called pods.
~A female leads the pod.
~Most of her children stay with the family for life.
~The average pod consists of 5 to 6 Orca’s.
7. Intelligence
~2nd heaviest brains among marine mammals.
~Very good at imitation and teaching their
young life skills.
~They are very curious and playful.
~They are very good at learning new techniques
through trial and error to catch prey.
8. Orca’s
Orca’s are very intelligent mammals. They travel in
families called pods. They have a very close family
bond. They work together to raise their young and to
catch prey. Orca’s have been studied and recorded
since the early 1800’s. They are a very complex animal
and fun to watch!
http://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-
sandiego/Animals/Webcams/Shamu-Cam
