Orcas grow to be about 27 to 33 feet long and they can weigh from 8,000 to 12,000 pounds. The male orca is bigger than the female. The orca whale is also the last member of the dolphin family. The Orca's skin is mostly black with some white patches. Orcas have stocky bodies and a round head with a beak-like nose.

 

They have a tall dorsal fin and large paddle-like flippers. The dorsal fin on a male can grow to be up to 6 feet tall and can be more upright than females. Orcas are really good hunters that eat a very diverse diet of fish, squid, sharks, and marine animals including whales, seals, turtles, octopi, penguins, and gulls.

  

They have been known to attack young blue whales and other large whales. They have 13 pairs of large interlocking conical enameled teeth on both upper and lower jaws. So they have 40 to52 teeth. The teeth curve inward and backward this helps them catch prey.

 

Their teeth are about 3 inches long. Orcas are very social mammals and they live in pods of 6 to 40 whales. The bond between the close members of the Orca pods is strong and last for life. The members of the pod hunt together in a very sophisticated manner attacking even very large prey and then sharing it.

 

The pod members protect the young, the sick and the injured. The Orcas are very fast swimmers. They can swim up to 30 mph in bursts in order to catch prey. Orcas also breathe air out of a hole called a blowhole located near the top of the head. They blow a single bushy cloud of air. Orca vocalizations include clicks used in echos, whistles, and scream like pulses. The sounds are used to communicate with other orcas, for mating purposes, and for locating prey.

 

Different pods have different smells and can recognize members by the sent. Orcas live in waters ranging from tropical to arctic, and both coastal and deep oceanic waters. They are found in all the world's oceans and most of the seas. Orcas sometimes enter estuaries but don't go far from the sea. Orcas don't make long, seasonal migrations.

  

They may, however, cover an area of hundreds of miles in order to find seasonal prey. Orca breeding occurs mostly in the winter to early spring while near the surface and in warm waters. The gestation period is about 16-17 months and the calf is born tail first and near the surface, usually between October and March.

 

The newborn instinctively swims to the surface within 10 seconds for its first breath. It is helped by its mother using her flippers. Within 30 minutes the calf can swim. And it is about 6.5-8 feet long, weighing up to 400 pounds. The baby is nurtured with mothers milk. The mother and calf may stay together for about a year. Orcas have a life span of 50 to 60 years. Females have been known to live up to 90 years old.

 

Author: Andy S

Published: 02/2007

 

Photo Credit:

photo of orca by Jeremy Scholz, 2007