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The life of an Orca. By: Aaron Darr. Introduction. Most People know a little about whales and the orca, also known as the killer whale. Those who study them know a lot more about these whales than most other people.
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The life of an Orca By: Aaron Darr
Most People know a little about whales and the orca, also known as the killer whale. Those who study them know a lot more about these whales than most other people. Myself, I have studied orcas ever since the age of three and I even want to become a marine mammalogist. There are a lot of fascinating facts anyone can learn about orcas. Many people know only the basic information about the orcas but, there are four types: Captive, Off-Shore, Transient, and Resident orcas, as well as the rare and mystical White Killer Whale.
Location/Description There is some basic information that some people do know as well as some that they do not know. Orcas live all around the world, as far as the two poles and even in tropical waters. They prefer the chilled waters in the Arctic and the Antarctic but, have been seen around Hawaii and in the Gulf Of Mexico. Because they are so dispersed many people know what they look like. Orcas have a stream like body that is black on top with a white eye patch and underbelly. The white eye patch is kind of a trademark, as well as ,at least on males, the tall dorsal fin that can grow to six feet high. They have two paddle like fins and a saddle behind their dorsal fin that is like their finger print.
Location/Description con’t. Their saddle is also used for identifying individual orcas, as well as cuts and nicks on their dorsal fin. Their teeth are all cone shaped and interlock so they can rip off chunks of meat for a carcass. All killer whales may look the same, but not all are the same there are four different types: Captive, Off-Shore, Transient, and Resident Orcas.
Unusual Habits Captive orcas are not really a different type of orca, but they usually do have some more unusual habits compared to the wild orcas. One habit is that some have attacked their trainers before, and there are no records of a wild orca attacking a human ever. Also it is seen that in captive orcas their dorsal fin fold over. One habit I learned about that all orcas have is if two have like a spouse dispute they are like humans and have “make-up intercourse”, and it is found that orcas will have sex just for the fun of it. Not like all of the other animals who do it to mate. Other than unusual habits, captive orcas act just like the other orcas but their life styles are slightly different. First of all, they have to perform in shows doing tricks. Also they have to get medical checks every week, they are taught what to do to make the test go quick and easy. Plus their food is slightly different, because they don’t get all the nutrients they would get in the wild, so they have to take vitamins. Other than the tricks, unusual behavior, and food
Life Styles Other than unusual habits, captive orcas act just like the other orcas but their life styles are slightly different. First of all, they have to perform in shows doing tricks. Also they have to get medical checks every week, they are taught what to do to make the test go quick and easy. Plus their food is slightly different, because they don’t get all the nutrients they would get in the wild, so they have to take vitamins. Other than the tricks, unusual behavior, and food supplement, they are pretty much like the other three types of orcas.
Food Themost mysterious type of orca is the off-shore orca. This type lives far out in the ocean and feeds off of sharks, sea turtles, dolphins, porpoises, and other whales big and small. There have been sightings of orcas in large groups attacking blue whales which is the worlds largest animal as well as sightings of a young male orca attacking and eating a full grown great white shark, which because of the movie Jaws, is seen as the oceans top predator.
Life Style These orcas live in large pods ranging from 30 to 60 whales, and are usually led by the oldest female. These pods are mainly big family groups that combine later in the season when they are ready to mate to cancel out chances of interbreeding. Sometimes juvenile males will create their own pod and travel around as a bachelor groups. Off-shore killer whales are actually harder to find, so they don’t get studied as much as the other types.
Food Transient orcas are similar to off-shore, but their dorsal fin is more pointed at the top and the off-shores is more rounded. Transient orcas eat seals, sea lions, penguins, and fish, but they do eat sharks, sea turtles, porpoises, and other whales as well. The coolest thing about the transient is their beaching technique for catching sea lions, seals, and penguins. The beaching technique is just as it sounds. They swim in really close to shore than shoot to the shore, beaching themselves to catch unwary seals, sea lions, or penguins. Then Shifting their body till they can swim out to sea again. It’s a dangerous technique that they learn from a young age and usually have mastered when they are full grown. It success rate is about 30%.
Life Style These whales don’t really live in pods like the other types. The tend to leave their mothers once they reach the age of maturity, then they tend to live in small groups of 2 to 5. Males sometimes living alone. When these orcas are ready to mate they form a super pod of around 50 orcas, but these only last about a month.
