Table Of Contents

Intro pg.1

Background pg.2

Characteristics pg.3

Habitat pg.4

Diet pg.5

Adaptations pg.6

Jaw dropping facts pg.7

Conclusion pg. 8

                             Glossary pg. 9

What Is A Orca?

What is an orca? An Orca is a dolphin. In fact, an orca is the largest dolphin to boot. Orcas spend 95 percent of their life underwater.

Found in all oceans of the world, the killer whale is considered to be the same species everywhere. Since killer whales spend about 95 percent of their time underwater (as do most of the cetaceans) it has been difficult to learn a lot about their natural history. Much information was learned by the early whalers as they kept logs and detailed notes about their catch. Thus, historical accounts of the whales that were taken by whalers have yielded much information about behavior, ranges, and population levels starting in the 1800s. The killer whale was not sought after by the early whalers because it was too small and too fast so little historical information was recorded. Although killer whales are reported worldwide, there seem to be concentrations off the coasts of Antarctica, northern Japan, Iceland, Norway, Alaska, and the British Columbia/Washington areas.

Background

An orca female can live up to 30 years or more. A male orca can live up to 25 years or more. A newborn baby orca weighs as much as a motorbike at about 180kg, and they’re 2-3m long. An adult male can weigh about 8600kg and grow up to 10m in length, while an adult female can weigh about 5400 kg and grow up to 9m in length.

Habitat

Depending on the ecotype, killer whales may exploit a variety of habitats, from shallow coastal areas to deep waters off the Continental shelf. Killer whales are found in the open ocean but seem to be most abundant in coastal waters. While killer whales can be found around the world, they are much more common in highly productive areas of cold-water upwelling; including the Pacific Northwest, along with northern Norway's coast in the Atlantic, and the higher latitudes of the Southern Ocean.

Diet

Killer whales eat Bony fish. They also like sharks, rays, and 50 different species of marine mammals. They also like Octopus, Seabird, Batoids, and Squid.