![]() ![]() The term "killer" whale is probably due to the fact that pods of killer whales will hunt together and kill other whale species as well, including blue whales as large as 70 feet in length. Pods of killer whales work together and use multiple techniques to hunt and will use their powerful tails called "flukes" as weapons. They are completely carnivorous and consume amazing amounts of small fish such as herring, larger fish like tuna and sharks, and marine mammals like seals, and even polar bears. Orcas are massive animals with males as large as 30 ft long (the largest recorded was a male measuring 32 feet long and weighing over 22,000 pounds) and require up to 500 pounds of food a day. Social contact and interaction are critical to all whale species, and the killer whale craves stimulation from its family, peers, and close friends. Pods usually include between 6 and 30 individuals, but like the bottlenose dolphin, the killer whales social structure is complicated, and pods may come together forming groups of over 200 whales, within which all the individuals recognize and socialize with each other. Killer whales live in family groups called "pods" which consist of adult males and females and calves of various ages. ![]() The killer whale, or orca, is highly intelligent and extremely social. They are found in all of the oceans of the world, and are populous even in the colder waters of the Arctic and Antarctic oceans. They only need to breath air from the surface once every 5 to 10 minutes using the blow hole at the top of their heads which is like a large nostril. Killer whales are fully aquatic mammals that spend their entire lives underwater. Most of the largest dolphin species are referred to simply as whales, including pilot whales and of course killer whales, also known as orcas. ![]()
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