WorldWideWhale.com
A Web site dedicated to Cetaceans, the whales and dolphins of this blue planet,
and the people who fight to save them.
and the people who fight to save them.
Orca Whale Facts
| Size: | Mature males reach about 23 feet; females less than 20. Species record is 31.5 feet, much less than the "great whales" which can reach 50 - 90 feet |
| Speed: | Orca whales are the ocean's fastest swimmers, capable of speeds of up to 30 miles per hour. |
| Lifespan: | Killer whales live about as long as humans, reproducing over a similar age span. Most females first give birth at age 14 and bear four to six calves over the next 25 years then enjoy life as doting grandmothers, into their seventies and eighties! Males mature also at age 14 and live to about 60 years. |
| Culture: | Around the world, orca whales divide into three subspecies (or races) that do not intermingle but neither do they show hositlity between races. "Resident" whales are the best known of the three, navigating directly along coastal passages, feeding exclusively on fish and maintaining highly social family units. "Transient"> whales inhabit the same waters, but are markedly less social, travelling alone or in much smaller family groups. These whales are more aggressive and can be identified by their smaller, more pointed dorsal fins with a slight bulge on the leading edge. Transients sem to ignore fish but feed on seals, sea lions, porpoises and other sea mammals. The final subspecies is that of the "offshore" killer whales, which live in large groups of 30-60 or more. Their dorsal fins are crescent shaped with rounded tips. These subspecies thrive independently of each other, despite their overlapping ranges. |
| Society: | The society of resident killer whales is as rich and complex as that of humans, with family bonds that persist throughout their lifetimes. Killer whales live in groups that are organized along matrilineal lines, the basic social unit of the whales. Many of these groups are families that contain up to four generations of whales, consisting of three to nine individuals.
Subpods are units that contain one or more matrilineal groups that travel together at all times. The females are likely to be closely related, comprising one to eleven groups, but most contaiin two. Pods are a larger social unit consisting of one to five subpods that frequently, but not always travel together. Pods have distinct dialects of vocalization and researchers have learned to recognize these pods by their calls. |