Orca or Killer Whale - Orcinus orca


The ocean is said to be ruled by the Orca. This intelligent cetacean is actually the largest member of the dolphin family. It is called Killer whale because it is a whale killer, indeed in organized pods the Orca is probably capable of killing any ocean dweller. It has been seen killing a great white shark, and attacking a blue whale. Only the Sperm whale may be a species that the Orca does not attack. I have personally witnessed a group of Orcas attacking and killing a Brydes whale, and this took 48 astonishing minutes to accomplish, with the females doing almost all of the work, just like a pride of lions.

The black and white pigmentation of an Orca is cryptic, in fact the eye which sits within a black patch in between two white patches and is almost impossible to see even at close quarters. Orcas generally are known to live in tightly knit family groups that are matriarchal and remain so for the lives of all members. Others have looser family ties and roam in larger areas, mix and match their pod members often and are the killers of other cetaceans. The matriarchal pods are never seen to kill other cetaceans.

Orcas occur in every ocean ranging from both Arctic and Antarctic waters, all the way to the tropics. They are often unpredictable in their appearance in any given area, but there are exceptions to this rule and it is in these places that they are most studied. Their lifestyles vary according to the environment they inhabit. Recently they have been able to adapt to the fish farming that humans are undertaking in various parts of the world by stealing fish from the nets. There has even been documentation that Orcas bite small holes in the nets and then just simply wait for fish to discover the holes and pick off the escapees. In other places in the world, Orcas are known to swim in the surf, beach themselves and pick young seals off the beach as they do so, and then wriggle back into the surf. In other areas they will swim around large schools of fish until the fish "ball" themselves up for protection and then the Orcas will thrash the ball with their tails and eat the stunned fish.

It is this varied behavior in different environments combined with the Orca being at the very top of the oceanic food chain and difficult to track in some regions that makes their behavioral history so fascinating.In the Sea of Cortez, Orcas have been well documented in every month of the year. We do know that here they do kill other cetaceans, as attacks on the blue and brydes whales as well as many dolphins are well documented.

We also know that orcas in the Sea of Cortez are very unpredictable in their movements and that to find Orcas in these waters, one has to be very dedicated with a lot of assistance--or just fortunate. However, certain individuals have been photographically documented on multiple occasions in the Sea of Cortez identified by the shape of the dorsal fin combined with the shape of the grayish blaze just behind the dorsal fin are the identifying marks used. Orcas in these waters can be very friendly and curious about any boat, at times repeatedly swimming right up to and under a boat. To see the black and white coloring of an Orca in the Sea of Cortez silhouetted against the stark desert background and within the blue sea is an unforgettable sight.

Orcas will both spyhop and breach. The adult females can reach 20 feet in length while the males can reach 33 feet and weigh up to 9 tons or 18,000 pounds. The females are believed to live very long lives, certainly 80 years or so and possibly as much as 100 years.

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