Killer Whale Facts

• Killer Whale facts reveal that a male can be twenty-seven feet long and weigh up to 12,000 pounds. The female is a little smaller, growing up to 24-feet long, and weighing anywhere between 3,000 and 8,000 pounds.

• Killer Whales often attack their prey in groups. They eat other whales, squid, fish, seals, sea lions, and penguins.

• Killer Whales are toothed whales.

• Killer Whales are also known as Orca Whales.

• The only enemy of Killer Whales is a human being.

• Killer Whales live in groups, called pods.

• Killer Whales have one blowhole for breathing.

• Killer Whales are sometimes referred to as “the wolf of the sea,” because their behavior is similar to that of wolves. They are at the top of their food chain and are efficient killers. They live in small groups, similar to a wolf pack, for life. They take care of one another.

• All the oceans in the world have Killer Whales.

• Killer Whales in the Pacific near California eat sea lions, harbor seals and fish.

• The lifespan of a Killer Whale is around thirty-five years.

• The Orca Whale is black with white patches.

• The dorsal fin on an Orca Whale is up to six feet tall.

• The Killer Whale has between forty and fifty-two teeth. They are about one-inch around and three inches long.

• An Orca Whale eats 550 pounds of food every day.

• Killer Whales give birth only every three to ten years and their gestation period is seventeen months.

• A Killer Whale can swim up to 30 mph.

• Killer Whale facts tell us that they can dive to a depth of one hundred feet.

• Killer Whales often engage in spyhopping. That means they take their head out of the water and look around.

• A pod of Killer Whales makes distinctive sounds that only other members of the pod will recognize.

• Unlike other species, Killer Whales do not make migrations for reproduction and feeding.

• Killer Whales are not now an endangered species.

• Killer Whale calves nurse for one year.

• There is a high first-year mortality rate of around forty percent for Killer Whales.

• Like wolves, Killer Whales circle their prey before attacking.

• Vancouver Island in British Columbia is one of the best spots in the world for watching Killer Whales.

• Killer Whales have excellent vision and hearing.

• Killer Whales sometimes have been known to prey on Great White Sharks.

• Among Killer Whales, the social hierarchy is headed by a female, not a male.

• Killer Whale facts show us that females give birth to an average of five calves over their entire lifetime. They live to be around fifty years of age.

• Noise pollution can keep Orca Whales from communicating with one another.