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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, they are found in diverse marine environments, from Arctic to Antarctic regions to tropical seas.
Type 1 orcas consist of seven haplotypes and include herring-eating orcas of Norway and Iceland and mackerel-eating orcas of the North Sea, [36] as well as seal-eating orcas off Norway. [ 4 ] [ 37 ] Type 2 orcas consist of two haplotypes, [ 36 ] and mainly feed on baleen whales .
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 researchers’ analysis revealed exactly how the killer whales, often hunting as a group, subdue the whale shark. First, the orcas use their bodies to hit a whale shark at high speed.
“Killer whales are very physical,” he said, “and because they’re 25 feet long and weigh up to 8,000 pounds, when they are physical with an object, it can be a little bit more forceful.”
A gray whale does a bubble blast while foraging for food as seen via drone. ... The whales eat amphipod crustaceans like tiny shrimp and worms, which they consume by sucking up water and sediment ...
Conversely, some whales may use barnacles as weapons or protective armor to add power to a strike in mating battles or against orcas (Orcinus orca), or as a deterrent to being bitten by orcas. This would make the relationship between whale barnacles and certain whales mutualistic in which both parties benefit.
Northern resident orcas, also known as northern resident killer whales (NRKW), are one of four separate, non-interbreeding communities of the exclusively fish-eating ecotype of orca in the northeast portion of the North Pacific Ocean.