Customer: Amanda Jablonowski Animal: Killer Whale Report by: Felicia Ferentinos

Killer Whale Report Killer whales are Carnivores which means it only eats meat. Killer Whales eat fish, squid, sharks, seals sea lions walruses, penguins, turtles, octopi and gulls. They even hunt bigger whales as big as they are. The killer whale is a very powerful predator. The killer whale has been known for killing a young blue whale and other bigger whales. They have 10 or 13 pairs of a big interlocking conical, enameled teeth distributed that is in both the upper and lower jaw. The total of pairs is 20 and 26 pairs. So the orca has 40 and 52 teeth. A killer whale teeth curve inwards and backwards. This helps the killer whale catch their prey. Their teeth is about 3 inches (7.6cm) long and about 1 inch in diameter. A killer whale can eat about 551 pounds (250kg) of food a day. They are also being found in the cold coastal waters. They can also be soon in the Polar Regions by the equator. They can be seen around the world. They have a long population in the northern pacific basin, coastal areas of Washington State, Johnstone strait and in California. There are a large number of killer whales near Norway, and in the coastal waters of Argentina regions. Orcas live in the waters that ranging from tropical to Arctic. They can also be found in deeper waters. They are found in all the world’s oceans and some parts of the sea. Sometimes orcas enter estuaries, but they do not go far from the sea. They can be found in the Arctic and Antarctic oceans. They can be found worldwide. The killer whale is a high intelligent animal. The killer whale is in the dolphin family it is the world’s largest dolphin. It can grow about 8,000-12,000 pounds. (3.600-5.400kg). Males are bigger than females. The orcas is called the killer whale because they are the top predator in the ocean and very successful hunters. They can be seen in most seas like the Mediterranean and the Arabian seas. The killer whale is the second-most widely distributed mammal after the humans. Killer Whale can swim about 30 miles an hour but they can travel about 26mph for periods of time. A killer whale can also go for 50 miles without stopping. There are three different types of killer whales in the world which are the resident orcas,” they eat fish and squid. The transient orca they eat marine mammals. There is also the offshore orca they

eat fish, sharks and sea turtles. Male killer Whales can grow about 8 meters in a length. Female Killer whales can grow about 7 meters in a length. A killer whale can eat about 200kg of food every day. Which also includes over 20 different species? Of marine mammal and even more than 30 different species of big fish. Killer whales in captivity do not live longer they live about 25 years. They do live longer in the wild. Male Killer Whales can even grow about 8 to 9m and females can also grow about 7-8m. Male Killer Whales can live about 50 and 60 years and females live about 90 years. Killer Whales had never killed a human in the water. Killer Whales use a special skill to catch their prey it is called “Scan-hopping”. They use this to catch larger prey on the shore. The orca is the fastest member in the dolphin family. It can go for the speeds of 50km 1 hour. When they swim normal it can move about 10-15km 1 hour. They are very good swimmers. They can swim about 30 mph (48km) to catch their prey. Unlike their dolphin cousin’s killer whales are very extreme vocal animals and communicate between each other using clicks and whistles in process this is called echolocation. Killer Whales use their vocals and noisy sounds when they are hunting. Killer whales are clam and quiet when they are resting. A killer whale can dive about 100feet (30m) to allow them to hunt. Orca vocalizations include clicks for echolocation this also means for whistles, and scream-like pulses. Those are use for communicate with other orcas, mating and for locating prey. A Male Killer Whales average is 19 to 22 feet (6 to 7 meters) in a length. Female’s average is 16 to 19 feet (5 to 6 meters) long. Some people call the killer whale the wolves of the sea because they kind of act like wolves. Because they life in a group like wolves do. Killer Whales live in a group called a pod. A pod can hold 6 and 40 whales. There are approximately 30 mixed sex individuals, some pods have 150 orcas. Killer Whales are very social animals. Their bonds are between the members of orca pods are strong and that last all of their lives. Pods hunt together in a very sophisticate manner, attacking larger prey and they will share their meal with the rest of the members. All the members of the pod protect the young. They also protect the sick and injured orcas. Also have another way to look for their prey it is called spyhopping this is when the killer whale pokes its head out of the water to look for prey. When a killer whale leaps out of the water means it is telling how the animal is feeling like sad, happy are mad. Female Killer whales give birth to 3 and 10 years. After a 17 month of pregnancy. Females give birth to

one baby killer whale like about 5 years. Their gestation period is about 18 months long. On the baby killer whales skin have a yellow tint parts on their baby orca’s body. The white parts on the baby will fade when it gets older. Mothers will look after the calves the first few weeks of their lives. Female orcas will not reach sexual maturity until they are about 15 years old calves will drink milk from about a year until the calf will start to eat solid food. Orcas will begin to mate about in the early spring but they mostly mate in the winter that is near the surface and in warmer waters. A female can reach maturity at 6 to 10 years and males are 12 to 16 years old. Some babies gestation periods are about 16-17 months. A calf is born with it’s tail out first and that is near the shore, usually between October and in Match. A new born calf can swim about 10 seconds for the calves first breath. They usually have to swim near the surface. It will get help from the mother’s flippers. A new born calf can weight about 400 pounds (180kg). A new born calf can grow about 6,5-8feet (2-2m). The calf will stay with its mother about a year or even longer. A mother having twin babies is extremely rare. A average for a female killer whale is one birth for every ten years. Some females may give birth to three and five years. The killer whale is currently endangered because of habitat loss and people are hurting them. Pollution and contamination will make orcas to a lot of susceptible to disease and likely cause reproductive difficulties. They are also in trouble from reduction in food supply in some areas. They can also be in trouble from fishermen nets and boats. As the amount of food is reduced they may have to move it. Some people will kill them for sport for even consume the meat from them. They are also in trouble from oil spills and global warming. That is what I know about the Killer Whale.