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Orca Whales

Orcas are the ultimate in marine mammal entertainment; ever the crowd-pleaser

To whale watchers, orcas are the ultimate in marine mammal entertainment; ever the crowd-pleaser, tail slapping, spyhopping, breaching, happy to swim close enough to the boats to give onlookers a good view. To whalers of yore, they were the bane, whale killers following along, trying to snatch away their catch as they hauled it behind the boat. Marine historians believe it was because of this habit that through a translation mix-up the orca came to be nicknamed killer whale. Commercial harvest of the orca itself has been quite limited throughout whaling history.

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Information about Orca Whales

The largest species of the oceanic dolphin family, the orca is a blackfish. Recent DNA research has determined that the orca populations inhabiting Antarctic waters which previously were thought to be the same species are not. Scientists have divided these orcas into two separate species and the third, a possible subspecies.

Males grow to over thirty feet and weigh four to six tons; females are usually about ten feet shorter and half the weight. Orcas are black with a white belly and unique white patches including near the eye and a saddle patch behind its dorsal fin. It has a rounded beak, and the tall dorsal fin is straight in the male and curved and shorter in the female.

Its diet is specialized in different populations and may include squid, fish, other dolphins, sharks, sea lion pups and birds, including penguins. Orcas hunt in groups usually at the water’s surface, though the species can dive up to 100 feet and travel at speeds of up to thirty miles per hour in short spurts. Highly intelligent, orcas employ crafty hunting strategies, appropriate to the prey and circumstance. To go after penguins gathered on an ice floe, for instance, orcas may speed towards the floe before veering off at the last minute. The wave action makes the penguins lose their balance and tumble into the water.

Visitors on Antarctica tours will likely see orcas in groups led by a female. These pods are multi-generational and share calf-rearing responsibilities. Orcas communicate in separate dialects of high-pitched clicks. Female orcas mature by ten years and males by sixteen years. Females give birth to one calf every three to five years after a gestation of up to eighteen months. Calves are usually weaned after a year. The orca has no predators. Its lifespan is believed to be over fifty years and vary by gender and location.

Like other members of the dolphin family, orcas are not covered under the treaty of the International Whaling Commission. Population estimates of orcas vary, but the species is considered stable. Over 100,000 orcas may inhabit oceans the world over, though populations have declined in recent years in certain locations. In the southern hemisphere, most orcas are found in the waters of Antarctica as far north as the Falklands, making these islands a popular stop on Antarctica tours. Some fifty orcas are held in captivity in marine parks to put on shows for humans. Visitors may see orcas during their travel to Argentina or during Galapagos Islands cruises. Pygmy killer whales and false killer whales are found in tropical waters and may be mistaken for the orca.

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