Killer whales also known as orcas are one of the most popular big marine mammals in the world. Killer whales are not whales as most people think that they are. They are actually dolphins, the largest species of dolphins on the planet. They can hunt almost anything in the waters, including whales, sharks and other dolphins, yet no marine animal is able to hunt them. This is actually the reason they are called killer whales, because of their hunting abilities, not because they attack humans as some would think.
Humans are not on the list of menu for killer whales, the few times orcas have been said to injure humans are while in captivity, in the wild however, they don’t harm humans.
Orcas are very intelligent animals and also social, they hunt in packs, in an organised manner. Their diet range is very diverse. They eat seals, sea lions, elephant seals, sharks, whales, other dolphins, octopuses and smaller fishes.
However, some pods prefer certain meals over others. So a particular pod might specialize in hunting schools of salmon and over the generations and perfect the art. Apart from Blue whales and full grow male sperm whales very few animals in the sea are safe from these fearsome predators. Even group of white sharks, another apex predator have been said to flee hunting grounds when pods of Orcas are approaching.
It usually comes as quite a shock to people find out that there are actually different types of whales. You could compare these whales to different tribes or nationalities of humans. There are three major types of killer whales: Transient, Resident and Offshore killer whales. Killer whale populations are threatened therefore they receive protection under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The Residents are listed as endangered species while their counterparts the “transients” are listed as “depleted”. They both receive even more special protection. However, not much is known about the offshore killer whales.
The transients on the other hand hunt more of mammals such as seals, sea lions, generally aquatic mammals. They don’t stay in really large families though, this is because they move long distances, and they can be easily spotted by prays if they move in large groups. When their sizes begin to affect their hunting results, they further breakup into smaller groups. They are also very much less vocal than their residents, for the reason also that their major preys can hear their calls and vocalizations.
The different killer whales don’t mate outside of their types and they also rarely socialize outside their groups.
Killer whales have complex social structures and interactions; each group has its culture and even their vocalization dialects.
The major threats of killer whale populations are human activities, such as hunting, trapping them show off purposes and pollutions. Vessel noise also affects them, and makes it difficult for them to communicate and locate prey. The pollution depletes their natural diets, thereby reducing their food and their survival chances.
In some parts of the world, they are endangered species and are under the protection of conservation laws.
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