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The orca (Orcinus orca), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. It is the only extant species in the genus Orcinus and is recognizable by its black-and-white patterned body. A cosmopolitan species, it is found in diverse marine environments, from Arctic to Antarctic regions to tropical seas.
Orcas (or killer whales) are large, powerful aquatic apex predators. There have been incidents where orcas were perceived to attack humans in the wild, but such attacks are less common than those by captive orcas. [1] In captivity, there have been several non-fatal and four fatal attacks on humans since the 1970s. [2]
The Lummi Nation refer to the southern resident killer whales as qwe'lhol'mechen, which translates to "people beneath the waves". [9] The term Sk'aliCh'elh is used to refer to the J, K, and L pods of the Southern Resident orcas by their "Lummi family name". [ 9 ]
The earliest recorded post-colonization interactions between Salish Sea orcas and humans occurred in the early 1960s, when fishermen in Seymour Narrows, near Campbell River, BC, began to complain of orcas taking salmon from nets and interfering with fishing operations. At the time, orcas were not only viewed as costly competition with fishermen ...
That prompted the phrase “orca wars” to start trending on social media, which describes a fictional battle between humans and killer whales. The dangers of whale watching crowds
Orkid at SeaWorld San Diego. Dozens of orcas (killer whales) are held in captivity for breeding or performance purposes. The practice of capturing and displaying orcas in exhibitions began in the 1960s, and they soon became popular attractions at public aquariums and aquatic theme parks due to their intelligence, trainability, striking appearance, playfulness, and sheer size.
The “rarely seen” predators were spotted off the California coast near San Diego.
Namu was only the third orca captured and displayed in an aquarium exhibit, and was the subject of a film that changed some people's attitudes toward orcas. In June 1965, William Lechkobit found a 22-foot (6.7m) male orca in his floating salmon net that had drifted close to shore near Namu, British Columbia .