Hey Everyone!
So I realize now that while most people will know what a killer whale is, how many know what they are all about? Well, I think a new "feature" in this blog will be a quick fact sheet on the feature species of an internship. Starting with my second favourite cetacean species, the orca, aka the killer whale.
So. Twenty-five facts on the killer whale.
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1. Killer whales aren't technically whales at all. They are the largest dolphin species in the world.
2. "Orca" means "demon of the underworld". So whether you call them orcas or killer whales, it doesn't really matter. They're pretty hardcore no matter what you call them.
3. An orca's life span is normally between forty and fifty years old. That being said, there is a whale in B.C. that they think is over 100 years old.
4. Killer whales are found around the world. The North Pacific, the North Atlantic, the Antarctic Ocean, and a couple seas as well.
5. Every population has sub divided into two or three "ecotypes" - fish eaters and mammal eaters. They can also be differentiated by colour patterns, eye patch size, foraging/ family behaviours and acoustics.
6. These ecotypes never interact with each other. They avoid each other physically and don't breed with each other.
7. Off the coast of British Columbia there are three ecotypes: The residents (fish eaters), transients (marine mammal eaters) and offshore (fish/shark eaters).
8. The resident orcas feed primarily on chinook salmon. A study that looked at the stomach contents of residents found that over 90% of their diet was chinook.
3. An orca's life span is normally between forty and fifty years old. That being said, there is a whale in B.C. that they think is over 100 years old.
4. Killer whales are found around the world. The North Pacific, the North Atlantic, the Antarctic Ocean, and a couple seas as well.
5. Every population has sub divided into two or three "ecotypes" - fish eaters and mammal eaters. They can also be differentiated by colour patterns, eye patch size, foraging/ family behaviours and acoustics.
6. These ecotypes never interact with each other. They avoid each other physically and don't breed with each other.
7. Off the coast of British Columbia there are three ecotypes: The residents (fish eaters), transients (marine mammal eaters) and offshore (fish/shark eaters).
8. The resident orcas feed primarily on chinook salmon. A study that looked at the stomach contents of residents found that over 90% of their diet was chinook.
9. Transients feed on more of a variety, but only marine mammals. Dolphins, porpoises, sea lions, seals, small(-er) whales. They will not each fish. The Vancouver aquarium's first rescued whale didn't eat for almost a month because they kept trying to feed it fish. They say once you taste red blood you never go back. They're like vampires.
10. We don't know a lot about offshore, but they have found that their teeth are so worn down that we believe they are eating sharks and the skin is grinding down the teeth.
11. Residents live in large pods, between 20-50 individuals. They have matriarchal society, which means each pod has a primary female matriarch. Her offspring stay with her their entire lives, unless a daughter has enough offspring of her own to start their own pods
12. Residents hunt primarily through echolocation, because fish are pretty stupid. They work as a team to take out as many fish at a time as possible.
13. Transients live in much smaller pods, a maximum of 10 individuals. Their society is a lot more fluid, but they also tend to stick close to family.
14. Transients are hunting much smarter animals, and animals that can hear echolocation. So they have to be super sleuth about hunting. They are pretty quiet, working either alone or with only a couple others to bring down their prey.
15. Killer whales share their food. Not just mother/offspring, but any individuals around after a kill will get a piece. And this is transients and residents. There are videos of these massive animals gracefully tearing off small pieces of salmon in order for everyone to have a taste.
16. Chinook salmon are the largest species of salmon on the west coast, which means that not only do killer whales like to eat them, so do humans. This has but a lot of pressure on the killer whales.
17. In the 60s/70s, People decided that killer whales were a pest and a hindrance to the commercial fishing, so the government implemented intense killer whale whaling. A machine gun was set up for the sole purpose of killing orcas. Fortunately, it was never fired.
18. But during the time of whaling and these decisions, the populations took a massive dive. Now, there are about 200 transients, just under 200 Northern residents and only 87 Southern resident killer whales.
19. We don't know yet if the Southern population will ever recover, because they are facing three massive issues: Lack of food, boating traffic and pollution and contaminants.
10. We don't know a lot about offshore, but they have found that their teeth are so worn down that we believe they are eating sharks and the skin is grinding down the teeth.
11. Residents live in large pods, between 20-50 individuals. They have matriarchal society, which means each pod has a primary female matriarch. Her offspring stay with her their entire lives, unless a daughter has enough offspring of her own to start their own pods
12. Residents hunt primarily through echolocation, because fish are pretty stupid. They work as a team to take out as many fish at a time as possible.
13. Transients live in much smaller pods, a maximum of 10 individuals. Their society is a lot more fluid, but they also tend to stick close to family.
14. Transients are hunting much smarter animals, and animals that can hear echolocation. So they have to be super sleuth about hunting. They are pretty quiet, working either alone or with only a couple others to bring down their prey.
15. Killer whales share their food. Not just mother/offspring, but any individuals around after a kill will get a piece. And this is transients and residents. There are videos of these massive animals gracefully tearing off small pieces of salmon in order for everyone to have a taste.
16. Chinook salmon are the largest species of salmon on the west coast, which means that not only do killer whales like to eat them, so do humans. This has but a lot of pressure on the killer whales.
17. In the 60s/70s, People decided that killer whales were a pest and a hindrance to the commercial fishing, so the government implemented intense killer whale whaling. A machine gun was set up for the sole purpose of killing orcas. Fortunately, it was never fired.
18. But during the time of whaling and these decisions, the populations took a massive dive. Now, there are about 200 transients, just under 200 Northern residents and only 87 Southern resident killer whales.
19. We don't know yet if the Southern population will ever recover, because they are facing three massive issues: Lack of food, boating traffic and pollution and contaminants.
20. As skillful a hunter as killer whales are (and trust me, they have mad skills), they can't compete with humans. And when they share each kill, and each kill becomes harder and harder to make, the whales really are slowly starting to starve off. British Columbia has some of the most sustainable fisheries in the country, but it might still not be enough. Add on top all the sport and recreational fishers, who are also looking to catch a big ol' chinook, and we have a problem. (If you are buying salmon, ask first if it is wild harvest vs. farmed, and try to avoid B.C. chinook salmon).
21. Orcas are big and can go pretty fast, but boats are faster. If someone is just speeding through a pod of orcas, they might be able to move out of the way fast enough, and those propellers are sharp. Plenty of whales found and assumed dead have been from prop accidents, because usually in nature vs. machine, machine wins. (Go slow in areas known to have killer whales in them)
22. The residents rely on echolocation to find their scarce food source, and boats are extra loud in the water. The sound of motors cover their communications, making it harder, if not impossible, for a pod to hunt. And they are hungry (Don't get close to whales with your motor running. If you find yourself close to whales, shut down to keep quiet).
23. Having to come up for air is hard! Having lots of obstacles in your way makes it even harder! Any kind of water vessel makes it more stressful for killer whales to travel, hunt and breathe, and they can't afford to lose energy stressing out. (Don't get close to whales, and stay out of their path of movement).
24. Southern resident orcas are the most toxic animals in the world. They have accumulated massive amount of toxins in their bodies from pollutants and chemicals found in our waste. Chemicals used as fire retardants, pesticides, herbicides, you name it. (Know what goes into your products!)
25. Entanglements in fishing gear and deaths cause by physical pollution is nothing new to killer whales. Scientists have found tons of garbage in the stomachs of beached whales. (Reduce, reuse and recycle! Replace plastic in your life as much as possible).
Depressed? Don't be! These are amazing creatures and people have dedicated their lives to learn as much as we can about them and through education, learn what we can do to save them!
Speak Loud!
They're dolphins? Hunh...I wouldn't have guessed that.
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