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Killer Whales
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Swimming silently through the cool waters of the North Pacific, these proficient hunters come across a school of fish. Working as a team, they surround the fish until they are in a dense ball for easy catching. Swiftly they dive through the ball to obtain their meal. Satisfied, they go on and leave the fish to find something else that strikes their curiosity. Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are unique marine mammals due to their physical statistics, adaptation for an aquatic environment and their hunting/feeding methods. The physical statistics of killer whales are particular to this group of marine mammals. Their coloration, fins, and size describe what the killer whale looks like. To identify a killer whale at sea would be quite simple due to their distinctive coloration. They are black and white, with a gray saddle behind the dorsal fin. The white is prominently on the belly, with a lobe ascending the flank on each side and another pair of white, elliptical shaped lobes behind the eyes. They are counter-shaded being dark on their dorsal surface and white on their ventral surface. The dark side blends in with the murky ocean depths when viewed from above. The light ventral side blends in with the lighter surface of the sea when seen from below. Having this makes them practically invisible to their prey. Another easy way to spot a killer whale is by its dorsal fin. The fin is located right on the back of the orca and can be easily seen when the orca is near the surface. The dorsal fins of male killer whales are the tallest of any cetacean in the world, growing up to 6ft. Female dorsal fins are smaller at around 3-4ft. and my be slightly curved back. “Because of the huge diversity of killer whale dorsal fins, researchers take pictures of these fins to identify individuals and their pods, much like fingerprints are taken to identify humans.” (Gormley 143) The Orcinus orca, or the killer whale, is the largest of the dolphin family.
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