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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.
Bigg was the first to identify transient orcas as significantly different in eating habits, behavior, and distribution from resident orcas; hence they bear his name. His recommendation in the late 1970s that orcas be placed on the endangered list in Canada fueled interest in protecting the animals throughout the region.
Although resident orcas have never been observed to eat other marine mammals, they occasionally harass and kill porpoises and seals for no apparent reason. [105] Some dolphins recognize resident orcas as harmless and remain in the same area. [106] Orcas do consume seabirds but are more likely to kill and leave them uneaten.
Orcas or killer whales have a cosmopolitan distribution and several distinct populations or types have been documented or suggested. Three to five types of orcas may be distinct enough to be considered different races , [ 1 ] subspecies , or possibly even species [ 2 ] (see species problem ).
In biogeography, a cosmopolitan distribution is the range of a taxon that extends across most or all of the surface of the Earth, in appropriate habitats; most cosmopolitan species are known to be highly adaptable to a range of climatic and environmental conditions, though this is not always so. Killer whales are among the most well-known ...
Orcas — aka killer whales — have been documented killing and blue whales, which may actually be a positive sign. It Turns Out Orcas Can — And Do — Kill And Eat Blue Whales Skip to main content
Articles relating to orcas (Orcinus orca, killer whales), toothed whales that are the largest members of the oceanic dolphin family. It is the only extant species in the genus Orcinus . Orcas are recognizable by their black-and-white patterned body.
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 ...