Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
English-speaking scientists most often use the term "killer whale", although the term "orca" is increasingly used. Killer whale advocates point out it has a long heritage. Indeed, the genus name Orcinus means "of the kingdom of the dead". Killer whales are apex predators, meaning that they themselves have no natural predators. They are ...
Orcas, despite being dolphins, are commonly called 'killer whales' due to a mistranslation of the Spanish 'asesino de ballenas' (literally 'whale killer'), reflecting their historical predation on whales. [6] Since the 1960s, the use of "orca" instead of "killer whale" has steadily grown in common use. [7]
A related project which he co-directs, the Russian Cetacean Habitat Project, aims to study and conserve habitat for humpback, killer, fin, North Pacific right and Baird's beaked whales around the Russian Commander Islands. [27] [28] In 2013, he helped launch and became co-chair of the IUCN SSC/WCPA Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force. [8]
Killer whales play an important role in our ocean's ecosystem. Female orcas can live up to 90 years, and male orcas live up to 60 years. Whales can communicate through sounds ranging from clicks ...
A third type of killer whale roams the Pacific, but less is known about it; these offshore whales live farther out and prey on sharks and other large fish. A recent study found evidence of another ...
Orcas in the Gulf of California appear to have gained special skills to hunt and kill the world’s largest fish, according to a new study.. Whale sharks, which grow up to 18m long, are known to ...
Mother killer whales teach their young to catch pinnipeds by pushing them onto the shore and encouraging them to attack and eat the prey. Because the mother killer whale is altering her behavior in order to help her offspring learn to catch prey, this is evidence of teaching and cultural learning. The intentional beaching of the killer whales ...
Killer whales have reportedly attacked more than 500 boats in European waters recently. Are they exacting revenge for humanity's treatment of orcas?