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Orcas
In the Aug/Sep 2003 issue of Wild Animal Baby, you met Opal, a baby orca. Read on for more amazing facts about these marine mammals!
- Mother orcas carry their babies for 17 months before birth - nearly twice as long as people!
- Newborn orcas are 6-7 feet long and weigh between 280 and 400 pounds.
- When fully grown, an orca can be nearly as long as a school bus.
- A group of orcas that travels together is called a pod.
- Orcas can swim at speeds of more than 25 mph.
- Orcas can see well both above and below the water.
- The dorsal fin on a male orca's back can be almost as tall as grownup.
Do you know what orcas eat?
On occasion groups of these animals attack baleen whales, pinnipeds such as seals, and small Odontocetes. They are also known to feed on fishes, squids, sea turtles, and sea birds. They have been known to attack and mortally wound baleen whales, and then leave without eating them.
Photo: © U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
A male orca swims in Alaskan waters.
Illustration by Mike Speiser