Killer Whales or (the great orca) By:

Karen Ha

Tiffani To

Ronald Ho Huynh

Arthur Tran

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

Physical CharacteristicsMales can grow to be about 19 – 22 feet longFemales can grow to be about 16 – 19 feet longGeneral body shape is roughly cylindrical,

effective for swimmingUsually black and white with a gray patch called

a saddleMale dorsal fins can reach a height of 6 feetFemale dorsal fins reach a height of 3 – 4 feet

BehavioralThere 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 SourceKiller 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.

HabitatKiller 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.

AdaptationsKiller 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 FactsThe largest male discovered was 32 feet

longer and weighted 22000 pounds The largest female discovered was 28 feet

long and weighted 16500 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.http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-

books/killer-whale/index.htm 2.http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/

animals/mammals/killer-whale.html 3.http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/

KillerWhale