Pictures of dolphins - orca dolphin

Pictures of dolphins - orca dolphin

The Killer whale is the largest member of the dolphin family. This distinctive jet-black, brilliant white and grey marked, huge dorsal finned male, makes this animal relatively easy to identify. The female and juvenile, at a distance however, can be confused with Risso's dolphin, the False Killer whale and even Dall's Porpoise. The Orca can grow to a length of 7m (23ft) and weigh 4-5,000 kg in the male and 6.6m (21ft) 2.5-3,000 kg in the female.

Despite it's name, the Killer whale has never hurt a person in the wild. It is inquisitive and approachable and aggression within a pod is rare. The pod is a close-knit family group and is stable from one generation to the next. It's members usually stay together for life. When two or more pods come together temporarily the group is called a "superpod" and may number more than 150 whales. Usually larger groups split up into two or more smaller ones as the population grows. These groups of closely related pods (clans) often develop their own dialects.

Orca Dolphin

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