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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.
However other baleen whales such as fin, blue, minke, gray and sei whales also breach. Oceanic dolphins , including the orca , are very common breachers and are in fact capable of lifting themselves completely out of the water very easily, although there is little distinction between this and porpoising .
There are also fewer than ten pilot whales, Amazon river dolphins, Risso's dolphins, spinner dolphins, or tucuxi in captivity. Two unusual and rare hybrid dolphins, known as wolphins, are kept at Sea Life Park in Hawaii, which is a cross between a bottlenose dolphin and a false killer whale.
“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.” ...
Attacks by orcas, or killer whales, on boats in the Strait of Gibraltar are increasing. But why are these seemingly peaceful creatures becoming dangerous.
The sei whale, or Rudolph's whale (Balaenoptera borealis), lives mainly in the North Atlantic and avoids enclosed seas, [22] but occasionally makes occasional incursions into the Mediterranean, although this is considered exceptional [12] and restricted to Spain and France. [14] The sei whale is classified as "endangered" on the IUCN Red List. [23]
Researchers found an increase in common dolphin sightings in the English Channel and Hebrides, and a decline in white-beaked dolphins in the Hebrides.
A researcher fires a biopsy dart at an orca.The dart will remove a small piece of the whale's skin and bounce harmlessly off the animal. Cetology (from Greek κῆτος, kētos, "whale"; and -λογία, -logia) or whalelore (also known as whaleology) is the branch of marine mammal science that studies the approximately eighty species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises in the scientific ...