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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 .
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.
The whales eat amphipod crustaceans like tiny shrimp and worms, which they consume by sucking up water and sediment from the seafloor, where such creatures live, then using their baleens to filter ...
The orca is known to prey on numerous other toothed whale species. One example is the false killer whale. [69] To subdue and kill whales, orcas continually ram them with their heads; this can sometimes kill bowhead whales, or severely injure them. Other times, they corral their prey before striking.
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.
The herring population is not completely depleted by orcas because they never eat the whole herring ball during the feeding phase of carousel feeding. [2] The herring that are not consumed are able to escape from the orcas. This means the orcas do not completely deplete their food source and potentially the strongest herring will survive the ...
The research vessel Noctiluca of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in close proximity to an orca. The southern resident orcas, also known as the southern resident killer whales (SRKW), are the smallest of four communities of the exclusively fish-eating ecotype of orca in the northeast Pacific Ocean.