The weight of the largest killer whale. Everything you need to know about killer whales. Orca tooth structure

The killer whale is a mammalwhich belongs to the dolphin family. There is often confusion between killer whales and killer whales. Killer whale is a bird, but a killer whale is a whale.

It is one of the most fearsome and dangerous predators and stands in the same row, if not higher, than the great white shark. Aggressive and unpredictable. Possesses special beauty. Has an elongated and dense body, like. By itself, it is black with white spots. It can be up to 10 meters in size. And the fin in height can be up to 1.5 meters in the male.

Their head is short and slightly flat. It has two rows of massive teeth in order to easily tear apart its prey. As a rule, white spots in all individuals are located above the eyes. It should be borne in mind that they are so different for everyone that it is possible to determine an individual individual by spots. Judging by photo, killer whales indeed some of the most beautiful predators of the oceans.

All killer whales are divided into three types:

• Big killer whale;
• Small killer whale(black);
• Dwarf killer whale.

Habitat and lifestyle

The habitat of the killer whale extends throughout the World Ocean. She can be found anywhere, unless she lives in Black and Azov seas... They prefer the cold waters of the Arctic Ocean, as well as the North Atlantic. In warm waters, this mammal can be found from May to autumn, but no more.

They are excellent and very fast swimmers. Surprisingly, killer whales often swim into bays and can be found close to shores. There were cases of meeting with a killer whale even in the river. The favorite habitat of the killer whale is the coast, where there are many seals and.

It is difficult to count the number of killer whales around the world, but on average there are now about 100 thousand individuals, of which 70-80% are in the waters of Antarctica. Lifestyle killer whales are herd. As a rule, there are no more than 20 individuals in one herd. They always stick together. It is rare to see a lone killer whale. Most likely this is a weak animal.

Family groups can be quite small. It can be a female with a male and their cubs. Large herds include 3-4 adult males and other females. Males often wander from one family to another, while females are in the same herd all their lives. If the group has become too large, then some of the killer whales are simply eliminated.

The nature of killer whales

Killer whales, like dolphins, are very mobile and love all kinds of games. When a killer whale is chasing prey, it never jumps out of the water. So if you get into the habitat of these mammals and they jump in the water and somersault, it does not mean that they see food in you, they just want to play.

By the way, they are attracted by the noise of the boat engine, so they can chase them for many kilometers. The speed at which this animal can swim can reach 55 km / h. There is always peace and quiet inside the herd. These animals are surprisingly friendly. If one family member is injured, then the rest will always come to his aid and will not leave to die.

If a sick animal is attacked (which is extremely rare), then the herd will beat it off. But this friendliness ends with the members of one herd, towards other animals, including killer whales, they are aggressive. They hunt together and then can tumble and jump in the water for a long time.

Killer whale fish, which has no enemies at all. The mammal's only and merciless enemy is hunger. Especially for the big killer whale. They are not adapted to feed on small fish. Their hunting tactics are so different that catching fish is a tragedy for her. And how many fish need to be caught for this giant.

Nutrition and reproduction

The diet depends on the type of killer whale. There are two of them:

• Transit;
• Sedentary.

Sedentary killer whales feed on fish and molluscs, squid. They also sometimes include baby fur seals in their diet. They don't eat their own kind. They live in the same region, and only during the breeding season can they swim to other waters. Transiting killer whales are the absolute opposite of their sedentary counterparts.

These are killer whales – superpredators! Usually they keep in a herd of up to 6 individuals. The whole crowd is attacking whales, dolphins,. In the fight sharks and killer whales, the second wins. She powerfully grabs the shark and drags it to the bottom, where with the members of the pack they tear it to pieces.

The ability to reproduce offspring in killer whales appears at the age of 8 years. These mammals reproduce no more than once every three years. Pregnancy lasts about 16 months. Babies are born, usually in spring or summer. Cubs are born tail first, and the mother begins to throw them up so that they take their first breath.

All other members of the pack greet the little ones. When the flock moves somewhere, the mother and babies cover all the other killer whales. They reach maturity by the age of 14, although they grow very quickly. They live on average 40 years, although some individuals can live longer, it all depends on the way of life and nutrition.

Killer whales... Myth or Reality? As practice shows, an animal does not consider a person as food. She can safely swim nearby and not touch him. But don't be near seals or lions. Throughout history, only a few cases of killer whale attacks on humans have been recorded.

Killer whales, like dolphins, are often kept in aquariums. The show with them attracts thousands of spectators. And no wonder! Killer whales are very beautiful and graceful. They can do tons of tricks and jump high.

These predators are easy to train and quickly get used to humans. But they are also vindictive. Many communities are opposed to keeping killer whales in captivity. In captivity, killer whales live less than in wildlife... Their life expectancy is up to 20 years.

And also various metamorphoses are happening to them: fins can disappear in males, females stop hearing. In captivity, the killer whale becomes aggressive to both humans and relatives. Despite the fact that they are fed and looked after, from the performances and noise, they get stressed. All killer whales are fed with fresh fish, usually once a day.

Killer whales are mammals from the dolphin family of the order of toothed whales. The genus of killer whales consists of only one species. The animals are black and white in color, thanks to which these cetaceans cannot be confused with other members of the family.

The body length of a killer whale reaches 10 meters, its weight is 9 tons, and the fin on the back can be 2 meters high. Killer whales, unlike other dolphins, have wide and oval chest fins. The head is short, slightly flattened, without a pronounced beak from above. The mouth is equipped with large teeth up to 13 cm long. The body is oval, at the end with a massive tail. The color, as already mentioned, is black and white. The belly, throat and lower jaw of the animal have a white color. The back and sides are painted black. Killer whales also have two white spots placed above each eye. On the back, behind the dorsal fin, maybe white spot saddle-shaped. On this spot, researchers can identify each specific individual. In the waters of the Arctic and Antarctic, white spots of killer whales are often covered with diatoms and acquire a yellow-green hue.

In males and females, there are not only sex anatomical differences. Females are much smaller than males, their weight reaches no more than 4 tons, and in length they do not exceed 7 meters.

Where do killer whales live?

The killer whale lives in virtually all oceans from the Arctic to the Antarctic. In the waters Atlantic Ocean killer whales are found everywhere from Svalbard to Antarctica. Often swims to the Mediterranean Sea. In the waters of the Indian Ocean, killer whales live up to Australia. In the summer they even swim beyond the Arctic Circle into Antarctic waters. In the Arctic seas, they are distributed intermittently. So killer whales are found in the Barents, White and Kara (western and northwestern) seas, absolutely not meeting in the Laptev Sea and in the East Siberian Sea. Killer whales live on Far East in the Japanese, Okhotsk and Bering Seas near the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kuril and Commander Islands. Most often, in these places, killer whales can be found near the rookeries of sea lions and seals in Avachinsky and Olyutorsky bays.

Killer whale lifestyle and nutrition

Killer whales live in flocks. One flock can number from 3 to 100 individuals. Large groups most often consist of several families, linked by distant family ties. Each family consists of a female and her cubs different ages and already adult sons. Relationships in such families are very warm. Young and healthy individuals always take care of sick and old members of their seven. The family communicates with each other using different sounds common for all killer whales or only for their family. If there are any disagreements between family members, they express their displeasure with a tail bang on the water. They also hunt together. different mammals and fish.

In their "personal life" killer whales are prone to polygamy. The mating period of killer whales is very difficult to fix, so researchers have not yet been able to determine the exact time mating season... Approximately conception occurs in summer or autumn. As a rule, the female carries one calf, which is born after 16-17 months. Usually the baby is born in spring or early summer. But, for example, in Canada, killer whale cubs are born from October to May. The length of a newborn baby is quite solid - up to 2.7 meters, and the weight is also decent - about 180 kilograms. The mother begins to teach her cubs all hunting skills at the age of 2 months.

For the entire period of her life, the female gives birth to a maximum of 6 cubs, and by about 40 years she stops reproducing.

Sexual maturity in young killer whales occurs in females at 12-14 years old, in males at 18-20 years. The average lifespan is 35 years for males and 50 years for females. There have been cases when female killer whales survived to 90 years. Killer whales spend their entire life in the group in which they were born.

• Orca ater cope in Scammon, 1869
• Orca capensis Gray, 1846
• Orcinus glacialis Berzin and Vladimirov, 1983
• Delphinus gladiator Bonnaterre, 1789
• Orcinus nanus Mikhalev and Ivashin, 1981
• Orca rectipinna cope in Scammon, 1869
• Delphinus orca Linnaeus, 1758

The scientific name of the genus changed several times before arriving at the modern stable Orcinus orca. Most common outdated name Orca Gray, 1846. It was rejected as a junior homonym for the name, Orca Wagler, 1830, proposed for another genus of dolphins (now Hyperoodon Lacépède, 1804), and replaced by the oldest suitable synonym: Orcinus Fitzinger, 1860.

Appearance

Killer whales are the largest carnivorous dolphins; differ from other dolphins in contrasting black and white color. Male killer whales reach a length of 10 m and weigh up to 8 tons, females up to 8.7 m in length. The dorsal fin in males is high (up to 1.5 m) and almost straight, while in females it is about half as low and curved. Unlike most dolphins, the chest flippers of the killer whale are not pointed and sickle-shaped, but wide and oval. The head is short, flattened from above, without a beak; massive teeth, up to 13 cm long, adapted to tearing large prey.

The color of the back and sides of the killer whale is black, the throat is white, on the belly there is a white longitudinal stripe. In some forms of Antarctic killer whales, the back is darker than the sides. On the back, behind the dorsal fin, there is a gray saddle spot. There is a white spot above each eye.

Sense organs

In 1972, it was found that the upper hearing threshold for killer whales is 31 kHz, which is significantly lower than that of bottlenose dolphins. The range of the highest sensitivity was recorded from 5 to 30 kHz. A 1999 study shows that the highest hearing sensitivity of a killer whale corresponds to a frequency of 20 kHz, but a response of both examined killer whales to sounds of a frequency of 100 kHz was found.

Spread

The killer whale is distributed practically throughout the entire World Ocean, meeting both near the coast and in open waters, but it mainly adheres to 800 km of the coastal strip. The area does not include the Black, Azov, East Siberian and Laptev seas. It is less common in the tropics than in cold and temperate waters. In Russia - usually near the Kuril ridge and the Commander Islands.

Lifestyle and nutrition

Relationship with a person

Their commercial production was banned in 1982 by a moratorium. However, it does not apply to indigenous whaling and the capture of killer whales for scientific and educational purposes.

Until recently, the capture of killer whales in Russia was not carried out, until in 2012 and 2013 in the Far East the first killer whales were captured for subsequent use for cultural and educational purposes.

Two of them, named Narnia and Nord, were delivered to Moscow for the Moskvarium Center for Oceanography and Marine Biology, which opened on August 5, 2015 at the Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy (VDNKh). Later they were joined by a third killer whale delivered by a special flight from Vladivostok. The killer whale received the stage name Juliet.

In late 2018 - early 2019, a scandal erupted over the unacceptably harsh conditions of keeping beluga whales and killer whales at the TINRO-Center's Marine Mammal Adaptation Center in Srednyaya Bay.

Population status and protection

There are no exact data on the total number. The minimum total number is estimated at 50,000 killer whales. Local populations are estimated at 25 thousand in Antarctica, 8.5 thousand in tropical latitudes The Pacific Ocean, 2.5 thousand - in the northeast of the Pacific Ocean, from 500 to 1.5 thousand - off the coast of Norway and up to 2 thousand - off the coast of Japan.

In culture

Notes

1. Olga Alexandrovna Filatova. Acoustic repertoire and vocal dialects of killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the water area of \u200b\u200bEastern Kamchatka and adjacent territories (Russian) // Abstract of the thesis. - 2004.
2. "Killer whale" (mammal) and "killer whale" (bird) in dictionaries on Gramot.ru gramota.ru gramota.ru
3. Answers from the Gramota.ru help desk gramota.ru
4. Dictionary of modern Russian literary language: In 17 volumes / Ed. V.I. Chernyshev. - M., L.: Publishing house of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1956 .-- T. 5. - S. (columns) 850, 1493 .-- 964 p.
5. Systema naturae, Karl Linnaeus, 10th edition, 1758
6. See synonymy

Killer whale is the only cetacean predator that feeds on warm-blooded animals. Killer whales hunt in well-organized flocks, attacking even weakened blue whales.

SIZE
Length: males - 6.5-8 m, females - 5-6.5 m.
Weight: males up to 6,500 kg, females up to 4,500 kg.

REPRODUCTION
Puberty: from 8 years old.
Mating season: early winter.
Pregnancy: 16-17 months.
Number of cubs: 1.

LIFESTYLE
Habits: collective animals, kept in family herds.
Sounds: very varied.
Food: fish, cephalopods, marine mammals.
Life Expectancy: about 35 years old.

Whalers consider the killer whale to be a bloodthirsty predator that is dangerous to humans. In fact, in the history of the relationship between humans and these mammals, only a few cases of killer whale attacks on humans have been recorded.

Breeding killer whales

Male killer whales are easily recognized by their dorsal fin up to 170 cm high, which is visible above the water. The female is smaller, her dorsal fin is no higher than 1 meter and has a crescent-shaped notch in the back. Males become sexually mature from 8-10 years old, females - 2 years earlier. There is little information about how killer whales mate.
During the mating period, males wage fierce battles for females. Then mating dances are performed.
Childbirth occurs in the spring or early summer. Is born only one cub... Its length is 2.1-2.7 m, and its weight is 180 kg. He is very playful. Often thrown over the head of parents, who are thrown high into the air. The mother feeds the cub for about 1 year.

The female is ready for mating no earlier than 3-4 years later.

Killer whale lifestyle

Killer whales are kept in family herds of 5-20 animals. Small groups are usually formed by one adult male with a female and cubs. Large herds include 2-3 adult males. The female spends her entire life in one herd. Males regularly wander from one herd to another. When a group becomes very large, some of the males go with it and form a new herd.
Killer whales dive to a depth of 300 m, but are usually found near the surface of the water. When diving, they dive for about 30 seconds. They can stay under water for up to 4 minutes. Killer whales spend most of their time hunting, they also play willingly. Quite often the whole herd hunts together. At the same time, animals jump out of the water and plunge into the depths of the water column with noise.

These cetaceans usually do not attack humans (only a case of an attack on a trainer in the San Diego Oceanarium and an attack on a small yacht in the Caribbean Sea), but they also show no fear in front of her, approaching whaling ships and boats.

Killer whale feeding

The killer whale is a dexterous and intelligent hunter. She uses various hunting methods. The secret of a successful hunt lies mainly in the close cooperation of the entire herd.

The killer whale feels better off the coast than on the open sea. While searching for food, it emits sounds to which schools of fish that are nearby react. Having found a school of fish, killer whales drive it towards the shore, from where it has nowhere to run. They hunt seals in a similar way.

In the open sea, you can observe killer whales jumping out of the water. So they inspect the space around. The whole herd is involved in the attack on the great whale. Killer whales hunt in flocks of 3-4, and sometimes up to 30-40 individuals. During the attack, wolf packs behave - they attack the victim from all sides: some hold the victim by the tail so that it cannot hit them, others attack from the side of the head.

Killer whale in the wild

Speed: a killer whale is faster than a dolphin, it can reach speeds of up to 55 km / h, and its usual speed is 15 km / h.
Jaws: The jaws are very strong, but the killer whale cannot open them wide.
Teeth: the killer whale has massive teeth, flattened from front to back; in cross-section, their roots are quadrangular. The teeth sit very firmly in the widened strong jaws and are well adapted to contain and tear large prey.

The sound signals of killer whales are different: from a high variable tone to muffled moans and screams, as in March cats. Among the signals of killer whales, there were no nicer whistles and squeaks, like those of dolphins, but distress signals were mentioned.
The killer whale is a fairly intelligent animal. The killer whale is easy to train and is able to perform various tricks, for example, it jumps into the air at full height, plays with a ball, carries the trainer on the back, opens its mouth in which a person puts his head.

Characteristic features of a killer whale

Dorsal: in old males it is in the form of a narrow isosceles triangle 160-170 cm high.
White spots: There are white spots above each eye. The white coloration of the throat behind the pectoral fins tapers into a stripe running down the middle of the belly and widens behind the navel by three ramifications.
Length: females 5-6.5 m, males 6.5-8 m. With the exception of the size and shape of the fins, animals of both sexes are very similar.
Caudal fin: very strong, helps the killer whale to reach a speed of 55 km / h.
Teeth: massive, 10-13 pairs above and below, flattened from front to back; in cross-section, their roots are quadrangular.

Killer whale habitats

Lives in all oceans from the Arctic to the Antarctic, where it goes far into floating ice.

Preservation. The killer whale is a common species, it is not threatened with extinction. Sometimes it is hunted by anglers who believe that it destroys young fish. In the recent past, it was caught as an exhibit for aquariums.

Killer whale video

In Russian, as in all other dialects, there are words that are similar to each other in sound and spelling. People often ask each other again: in June or July? After all, an error in time can be expensive. There are words that are pronounced exactly the same.

Killer whale or killer whale?

For example: how do you spell the word "killer whale"? This question is probably asked by students studying biology. Correct: killer whale or killer whale? The spelling depends on the meaning of the word.

Who is a killer whale?

The killer whale is a marine mammal from the order of cetaceans. The killer whale belongs to the dolphin family. Why does it have such a name? Presumably due to the high, slightly curved dorsal fin of males, which resembles a scythe for mowing grass.

Who is a killer whale?

The killer whale is a swallow from the family of the same name belonging to the order of passerines. The tail of the killer whale is deeply cut. Thin feathers stretch along the sides of the tail and lengthen it. These feathers may resemble the braids of Russian girls. The name of the killer whale comes from the word "scythe".

20th century spelling

There may be another difficulty in spelling the name of a marine mammal. Killer whale or killer whale? How to spell the name of a dolphin correctly? Such questions arise when reading old sources. In the first half of the 20th century, both spellings were considered correct. However, only one is currently in use, namely the killer whale. Zoologists have saved us from confusion with concepts.

Fish of the Orca family

That's not all. In the taxonomy of fish, there is a whole family of Killer whales from the order of catfish. For example, in the east of Eurasia, the squeaky killer whale is found in the rivers. It is not subject to fishing. However, it is caught with interest by amateur fishermen. Once on land, the fish begins to creak quite loudly. Correct: killer whale or killer whale? In this case, the answer is obvious. Correctly "killer whale", because the whole family is called that.

Description of the mammal killer whale

A large dolphin with a black back and white belly. On the sides of killer whales there are white spots: one is in the head part, and the second is closer to the tail, moving away from the white part of the ventral side. The shape of the spots allows even the human eye to distinguish between individuals.

In the cold regions of the oceans white color often turns yellow-green or brownish due to diatoms breeding on the body of killer whales.

The killer whale feeds on fish, pinnipeds. Moreover, the specialization of certain groups of killer whales on a particular food has been noticed. If one group prefers hunting for shoals of fish, then another, living close to the first, may specialize in seals.

The killer whale is a fierce predator, which distinguishes it from other fish-eating dolphins. The killer whale stands at the top of the food chain. In the absence of fish and seals, it attacks whales and other dolphins. Having chosen a victim, the group will not let her go alive. Pieces of meat come off the huge prey. A seal lying on an ice floe will surely slide into the water directly into the mouth of a group member. After the sea lion, the killer whale can jump onto the shore and, grabbing it with huge teeth, which are about 13 centimeters long, return to its native element.

However, the killer whale does not touch a person. Apparently, this representative of the dolphin family also has a love incomprehensible to man for us, people. Can attack a person if he feels danger or is under stress during prolonged captivity.

Killer whales are unusually generous and kind to each other. They seem to have a human understanding that there are weak members in the group. Ferocious predators take care of the sick and the elderly, protect mothers with children. Conflicts never escalate into fights, as happens in human society. A disgruntled killer whale will only slap its tail in the water.

Description of the killer whale

The barn swallow settles side by side with a man. She places nests on human buildings: under eaves or even inside buildings if there is an opening for the flight of a bird.

The body of the killer whale is elongated, the wings are sickle-shaped, which allows dexterous maneuvers in the air. The tail with a large notch and very long lateral tail feathers distinguishes it sharply from other swallows. The beak is short and wide, which is convenient for catching insects on the fly.

The dorsal side of the body is black and the belly is white. The throat is red.

Likes to sit on wires. At the same time, it constantly chirps.

The nest is built from clay and silt, which it blinds with its own saliva. Adds straws and hair to the material for strength. He returns to his favorite building every year. However, every spring a new nest is built next to the old one. Lines it with feathers and hairs.

It feeds on insects, which it usually catches on the fly. In inclement weather, with a weak activity of insects, it collects them on the fly from surfaces: from the walls of buildings, from the grass.

The barn swallow lives all over the world, except for Australia (where stray individuals can meet) and Antarctica. In the north, it flies into Greenland, Iceland (sometimes nests here), New earth... Barn swallow - migrant... Individuals nesting in the middle lane fly for the winter to Africa, India, and southern China.

The killer whale is perfectly adapted for flight. Biologists distinguish it from other swallows by its rapid flight with frequent, sometimes smooth, sometimes unexpected maneuvers. So the killer whale hunts, skillfully seizing midges and mosquitoes on the fly, saving us from the midges.

Why does the killer whale choose the neighborhood with humans and build its nests right on people's homes? The fact is that the barn swallow is a bird of rocky areas. In nature, it nests in shallow caves or holes in rocky shores and low mountains. Human structures are remarkably cliff-like with beautiful recesses for nesting. Due to the huge number of buildings in the world, many birds have spread widely around the world, the biotope of which was previously only mountainous terrain. These are well-known jackdaws and doves. The killer whale, on the other hand, chooses small human settlements to avoid the disturbance factor.

It is really possible to determine the weather by the flight altitude of the swallows. At low pressure, insects fly closer to the surface of the earth, followed by swallows. As soon as atmosphere pressure rises, insects rise high into the sky. Swallows rise after the food.

Description of catfish killer whales

Catfish are small to medium in size. The body is triangular. Dorsal and pectoral fins with spines are distinguished from other catfish. Antennae 2-3 pairs. The eyes are covered with a film. There is an adipose fin. No scales. The whole body is covered with poisonous mucus, so the prick with thorns is painful.

Killer whales live in fresh waters Asia and Africa. In Russia, in the Far East, there are 4 species from 2 genera.

Killer whales are predators. They eat a variety of organisms that can fit in a small lower mouth.

Aquarists love keeping catfish in aquariums. Some fish species are brightly colored and arouse interest in behavior.

The Nanai people call these fish "kacakta". It is believed that russian name "Killer whale" comes from the Nanai.

The squeaky killer whale is one of the members of the family. Creaks with jagged fins. Active mostly at night.

We have dealt with the spelling of various representatives of the fauna. The question of whether it is correct - killer whale or killer whale is important for animal identification. The same pronunciation was found in different types vertebrates: a representative of mammals, birds and fish. This happened during the formation of the names of living objects.