Orca Whales

• Orca whales are also known as Killer Whales. Orcas are the second largest toothed whale. The orcas dorsal fin can grow up to be six feet. Behind the dorsal fin, there is a little gray area called the saddle. Adult orcas are black and white, with a gray saddle. There is also a little white patch on each side of the whale, just above and behind the eye.

• A baby orca is called a calf and a grown-up female is a cow. The male is called a bull. A bulls dorsal fin can grow to be six feet tall. Baby orcas are about seven feet long. The orca can grow to thirty-two feet.

• Male orcas can weigh up to 18,000 pounds. The baby can weigh up to 450 pounds when born. When a calf is born, it doesnt have teeth. Most females have babies every three years. The belly and eye patches of a newborn orca are tanish-orange or pink for the first couple of months. Orca calves are born tail first.

• In the open ocean, orcas are very playful. An orca can swim thirty miles per hour. They like to swim close to land. They usually travel in pods with four to one hundred other orcas. An orca will swim and live with the same pod for its whole life.

• Orcas breach a lot. Breaching is when a whale jumps partly or all the way out of the water. Orcas log when they sleep. Logging is when a whale is lying on the surface of the water, awake or asleep.

• Orcas make clicking noises to communicate. Orcas also make high-pitched squeaking noises to communicate. They also may be communicating when they are breaching.

 

 

Keiko's Incredible Voyage

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