The word killer whale - Orcinus orca - is often pejoratively added with the misleading and unfair epithet "murderer".
It is true that the killer whale is a superpredatory cetacean that kills its prey to devour it. In the same way that a dolphin kills the fish it devours, or a cat kills a mouse it hunts before eating it. Despite this, I have never heard it described as: killer dolphin, or killer cat.
However, there is a story that dates back to the 18th century, coined by Spanish whalers, which explains why since then the wrong adjective of killers has been added to killer whales (especially in the world Anglo-Saxon).
If you continue reading this article on our site, you will understand why many uninformed people ask themselves: Are orcas killers?
The Spanish whalers of the 18th century
The sailors embarked on the Spanish whaling ships of the 18th century, observed on many occasions how the killer whales hunted thehumpback whales, sperm whales and other species of whales. The orcas attacked in a kind of planned and herd attack on the whales they chose as prey, preferably those that were accompanied by their calves.
The first thing was to exhaust mother and son with a chase in which the killer whales jumped on the calf to sink it and prevent it from breathing. The other killer whales attacked the whale to prevent it from protecting its calf. Normally the calf succumbed to drowning, at which point they sometimes stopped harassing the mother and fed on the carcass of the calf, or they also ended up with the mother bleeding her.
Observing these brutal hunts, Spanish whaling sailors dubbed the relentless killer whales: " whalekiller". Definition that the English applied literally as: " killer whales" (killer whales in their language); instead of "whales killer", which would have been the correct way of translating the original definition by the Spanish whalers.
Orca morphology
The killer whale is the largest oceanic dolphin. The males measure up to 9 m., and weigh up to 5500 Kg. The females are smaller, since they measure about 7.7 m., and weigh about 3800 Kg.
Despite their enormous volume, they have a very hydrodynamic shape that allows them to swim at high speeds (40 km/h.), in a sustained manner while chasing their prey. The cruising speed during its migrations is from 5 to 10 Km/h.
The enormous dorsal fin and the characteristic combination of only two colors, black and white, do not allow the adult killer whale to be confused with any another marine being.
Killer Whales
There are three kinds of killer whales: resident, transient and maritime.
- Resident killer whales are those that live in specific areas near the coasts and their migrations are short-distance. The dorsal fin is curved with a rounded tip. They live in large groups (up to 60 individuals) and feed basically on fish and squid. Reproduction is highly inbred.
- Transient killer whales are killers that migrate, swimming great distances close to shore. They do it in small groups of less than 10 individuals. They basically feed on marine mammals: seals, sea lions, etc. The characteristic of these killer whales are their triangular and pointed dorsal fins.
- Sea killer whales live very far from the coast, about 20 km from the coast, forming very large groups of up to 75 individuals. Their main food is sharks, including the fearsome white shark. Whales are also part of their diet. These killer whales are somewhat smaller than the specimens of the other two groups. Its dorsal fin also has a rounded tip. These orcas migrate thousands of kilometers.
Killer Whales live in any type of ocean water and you should know that each group makes different sounds, as if they were communicating with different "languages". Killer whales, despite belonging to the same class, do not usually change their social group, they are animals that are particularly attached to each other.
The intelligence of killer whales
Killer Whales are considered to be one of the most intelligent marine mammals that exist. They have a very large brain that they exploit very easily.
They are capable of entering the labyrinthine sets of nets that form the complex traps, catching the tuna held there and getting out of the trap. Dolphins (very intelligent animals too), are incapable of such a feat.
When they live in large aquariums they learn very easily the tricks that they are taught. However, and precisely life in captivity is an element that promotes a hostile and surly attitude in killer whales.
The aggressiveness of killer whales and why
While hunting, killer whales are relentless. They have a prodigious physical power and are considered to have no predators, except humans. They feed on fish and cetaceans larger than them. They even practice cannibalism. We are talking about superpredators that are at the top of the trophic pyramid.
However, there are hardly any attacks with human victims among wild killer whales that show no feeding interest in humans. However, among captive killer whales it has been shown that fatal attacks on their trainers are common. Why?
Killer whales are tremendously intelligent animals; the lack of enrichment, reduced spaces, mixture of different specimens and many other causes favor an attitude that can lead to fatal attacks. As with many other animals and even people, a life far from well-being causes alarming stress and anxiety
Most killer whales living in captivity have tremendously little space, far removed from what they should have to exercise and hide properly. It is also very common for them to spend long hours practicing for future tour shows instead of spending time hunting for food or socializing with each other.
Killer whales in captivity show a singular detail unlike wild killer whales: the crooked finThis is a symptom of irremediable sadness and stress that only manifests itself in specimens that live in dolphinariums, aquariums and other types of zoos.
The discomfort that such an intelligent animal feels when feeling locked up and forced to practice tricks time after time is really detrimental to its mental he alth, perhaps for that reason Sea World has announced the cessation of reproduction of orcas in captivity, joining a respectful initiative with the lives of these animals and clearly understanding their particular needs that must move away from an urban environment. But life for these mammals at Sea World hasn't always been pleasant, far from it.
It was precisely at Sea World that the nickname "killers" resurfaced when the orca Tilikum killed her trainerby drowning her several times in the swimming pool. How could it have happened? It certainly wasn't the first time that Tilikum had shown hostile attitudes towards humans, but they didn't care. He rewarded more the money he made them earn. Tilikum's conditions were truly untenable. Currently, many former Sea World workers affirm the horrible conditions in which that orca lived, either because of the tremendously reduced space he had, his partner with whom he did not get along or because of the lack of care in his daily environment.
Killer whale longevity
Between 40% and 50% of killer whales die during the first 6 months of existence. Once this critical stage is passed, their mortality rate drops dramatically. Female killer whales live longer than males, exceeding 60 years of existence Even 90-year-old specimens have been counted. Males live about 40 years.
Nevertheless and as a final point we must highlight that captive killer whales live much less than these figures. Its longevity is around 20 or 30 years.
Discover also…
- The largest sea fish
- The fauna of the Peruvian jungle
- Prehistoric marine animals