Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Killer Whale |
Killer WhaleNoun1. Predatory black-and-white toothed whale with large dorsal fin; common in cold seas. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The Killer Whale or Orca (Orcinus orca) is the largest member of the dolphin family (order Cetacea, subfamily Delphinidae) and a versatile predator. It is also called the Great Killer Whale, Grampus, and Sword Whale.
Killer Whale
Orcinus orcaScientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Cetacea Family: Delphinidae Genus: Orcinus Species: orca Binomial name Orcinus orca The animals are characteristically colored, with a black back, white chest and sides and a white patch above and behind the eye. They have a heavy and stocky body and a large dorsal fin. Males can be up to 9.5 metres long and weigh as much as 10 tonnes; females are smaller, reaching 8.5 metres at most and a weight of 7 or 8 tons. Calves at birth weight about 180 kilos and are about 2.4 metres long. At about 1.8m the dorsal fin of the male is taller than the female's, and more upright. From a distance, females and juveniles can be confused with various dolphin and porpoise species.
Most live in the polar regions but they are found in all seas including the Mediterranean and Arabian Sea. At sea they are usually seen in pods of 5-25 whales, although groups of up to 150 have been seen together.
The Orca's diet depends entirely on availability, although pods can specialize and thus ignore potential prey. It is believed they require around 60kg of food daily. Their prey includes twenty species of cetaceans, five species of pinniped (seals), thirty species of fish, seven species of bird and two species of squid, in addition to a variety of other sea creatures, occasionally including larger whales such as Fin Whales, minke whales, Gray Whales, or even young Blue Whales. Orcas even hunt and kill great white sharks for their nutrient-rich livers and to eliminate competitors for food. It is from their attacks on other whales that they gained their name; they do not attack humans.
Man is their only predator. They are considered to be too small for commercial whaling, but they are sometimes killed because they compete with humans for fish. In the 1950's the US Air Force, at the request of the Icelandic government used bombers and riflemen to slaughter orcas in Icelandic waters. The operation was considered a great success at the time.
In recent years, the Orca's intelligence, trainability, and striking appearance have made it a popular public aquarium or zoo attraction. This, combined with the fact that the animal is not aggressive towards humans, has lead to the image of the species being rehabilitated from an object of fear like great white sharks to a respected predator, worthy of toleration, like the wolf in the United States. Orcas in captivity may develop pathologies such as dorsal fin collapse, seen in 60-90% of captive males.
The movie Free Willy (1993) focussed on the quest for freedom by a captive orca and his human well-wishers. The whale starring in the movie, Keiko, was originally caught in Icelandic waters. He was later returned to his native habitat and released, but continued to be dependent on humans for food.
See also:
External Links
- Pigmy Killer Whale
- False Killer Whale
- Monterey Bay Whale Watch Photos: Killer Whales Attacking Gray Whales
- Predation Behavior of Transient Killer Whales in Monterey Bay, California
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Killer Whale."
Synonyms: Killer WhaleSynonyms: grampus (n), killer (n), orca (n), sea wolf (n). (additional references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Movie/TV Titles | The Killer Whale Namu (1966) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Theater & Movies | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | A large male killer whale - Orcinus orca. Credit: NOAA's Ark (Animals). |  | Marine mammal observers watching mother killer whale and calf - Orcinus orca. Credit: NOAA's Ark (Animals). |
 | Killer whale - Orcinus orca - spy-hopping in the ice. Credit: NOAA's Ark (Animals). |  | Killer whale in Alaskan waters. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |
 | Killer whale cruising the pack ice looking for seals. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |  | Killer whale study. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |
 | A diving killer whale in Frederick Sound. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |  | Spy-hopping killer whale checking out the MILLER FREEMAN. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |
 | Killer Whale. Credit: Alaska Image Library. |  | Male Killer Whale. Credit: Alaska Image Library. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Play | Caption |
 | Killer whale communication. |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
killer whale | 3,631 |
killer whale picture | 252 |
killer whale photo | 66 |
orca killer whale | 48 |
killer whale pic | 30 |
keiko killer whale | 22 |
false killer whale | 17 |
killer whale watching | 12 |
captivity in killer whale | 6 |
killer whale image | 3 |
captive killer whale | 3 |
pygmy killer whale | 3 |
haida killer whale | 2 |
corky killer whale | 2 |
killer whale wild | 2 |
free killer whale willy | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "killer whale"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | balenë vrastare (killer). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | вид хищен делфин. (various references) | |
Czech | velryba (cachalot, finback, whale). (various references) | |
Danish | spækhugger. (various references) | |
Dutch | orka (orca). (various references) | |
Faeroese | bóghvítuhvalur (orca). (various references) | |
Finnish | miekkavalas. (various references) | |
French | orque, épaulard, \KIW. (various references) | |
German | Killerwal, Schwertwal, Mordwal. (various references) | |
Greek | όρκα. (various references) | |
Hungarian | kardszárnyú delfin (grampus, killer-whale, orc). (various references) | |
Inuktitut | aarlu. (various references) | |
Italian | orca (grampus, ogress). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | illerkay alewhay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | orca (grampus, killer). (various references) | |
Russian | бандит (bandit, brigand, gorilla, gunman, hijacker, killer, mobster, mosstrooper, outlaw, ruffian). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | kit-ubica. (various references) | |
Spanish | orca (grampus). (various references) | |
Swedish | späckhuggare (grampus, orc). (various references) | |
Thai | ปลาวาฬเพชรฆาต. (various references) | |
Turkish | katil balina (orca). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | Orca gladiator, Orcinus orca, Orcinus orca (Linnaeus,1758). (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-e-e-h-i-k-l-l-l-r-w" | |
-2 letters: whalelike. | |
-3 letters: harelike, rakehell, weaklier, whelkier. | |
-4 letters: helleri, lawlike, leakier, warlike. | |
-5 letters: allele, awhile, awhirl, hailer, hallel, hawker, hawkie, healer, heller, hiller, killer, lakier, leaker, rewake, wailer, walker, wallie, weaker, wellie, whaler, willer. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Usage: Modern 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Sounds 8. Expressions: Internet | 9. Translations: Modern 10. Translations: Ancient 11. Anagrams 12. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
