Killer Whales or (the great orca) By: Karen Ha Tiffani To Ronald Ho Huynh Arthur Tran

Classification Kingdom: Anamalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Cetacea Suborder: Odontoceti Genus: Orcinus Species: O. orca

Physical Characteristics Males can grow to be about 19 – 22 feet long Females can grow to be about 16 – 19 feet long General body shape is roughly cylindrical, effective for swimming Usually black and white with a gray patch called a saddle Male dorsal fins can reach a height of 6 feet Female dorsal fins reach a height of 3 – 4 feet

Behavioral There are two types of killer whales and each have different types of characteristics. There are the transient and the resident whales. They live in pods and travel together as a majority., but the two types of whales contain different amounts. As they travel in pods, they develop very strong social bonds and they communicate with each other. Individually they like to slap their tails. But mother and calves because they have a very strong bond together.

Food Source Killer whales swallow their food in chunks if it needs to be, but their throats are large enough to swallow small seals and walruses as a whole. Killer whales often hunt cooperatively and more of “doing it together type of animal” in different pods for food. They work together to surround a prey or preys to eat. But some do hunt individually depending on where they are and what kind of prey they are.

Habitat Killer whales inhabit all the oceans in our world. Found in the open oceans but seem to be more abundant in coastal waters. Can be found in tropical oceans near Hawaii, Australia, the Galapagos Islands, the Bahamas, and the Gulf of Mexico. More seem to hang around colder water like in the Arctic and the Antarctic. Have been seen in fresh water rivers around the world.

Adaptations Killer whales are very adapted to their to their water surroundings. Such as they are the fastest swimming marine animals. They tend to head really high up to breathe oxygen then dive back down. They adapt to living in the water by learning how to conserve the oxygen they have while being in the water. They only breathe through the blowhole that they have located on the top of their head. Their heart beat at a very slow rate at about 60 beats per minute under water.

Fun Facts The largest male discovered was 32 feet longer and weighted pounds The largest female discovered was 28 feet long and weighted pounds No one really knows for sure how long killer whales can live. Can group up to make a pod of 500 whales. Killer whales can’t chew.

Citations 1. books/killer-whale/index.htm 2. mmals/killer-whale.html 3.