Orca

by Will, Bank Street School for Children

Introduction

This is about the Orca whale and I will be writing about hunting, habitat, mating and other things. But first I'll tell you one small fact. The Orca Whale is much feared but, has never attacked or killed a person. It is mostly known as "the Killer Whale" and has the scientific name "Orcinus Orca."

Habitat
Adaptation
Reproduction
Behavior
Food

Habitat, Environment & Shelter

The Orca has been found all over the Poles, but has been found in the tropics. There are many fish, walruses, squid, seal, penguin, polar bear, other whales and lots of other animals in the oceans where the Orca live.

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Adaptation

Since the Orca mostly lives in the Poles, they have a lot of blubber and muscle to keep themselves warm from the cold water in the Poles. Also, they are black and white, and blend into the ice.

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Life Cycle - Mating & Reproduction

Breeding season lasts all year for the Orca. The Orca reaches sexual maturity at the ages 6 to 13. A female Orca has a young once every 8 years. The female has one calf at a time. The Orca whale mates belly to belly under water. After the baby Orca is born it instantly rises to breathe for its first time. The Orca breaths by jumping out of the water, every few minutes. An Orca calf is full grown from between 8 months to 2 years. The Orca family stays together till they die.

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Lifestyle and Behavior

The Orca whale is mostly found in the Poles, but have been found as far away as the tropics. Even though the Orca has teeth, most of the whales that live in the Poles have "baleen." Baleen are teeth like and used like a sieve. The whale opens its mouth, when it has water in its mouth it then closes its mouth and all the water drains out, leaving the small shellfish in the whale's mouth.

The Orca communicates, finds food and does almost everything with "echolocation." Echolocation is when a whale sends sounds out that bounce off objects. When they bounce off objects the whale can find out how many feet away it is from the object.

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Appearance looks and body

The Orca whale has teeth, not baleen like most whales. The Orca can have up to 48 large conical teeth. Even though most whales that live in the Poles have baleen the Orca has teeth and lives in the Pole too. Most of the Orca's weight is mussel. The Orca is white on the bottom of their body, from its jaw to its tale. But when they are born their white is yellow. When born the baby is 8 feet long. An adult can be as long as 30 feet. The Orca adults can weigh up to 8 tons.

It has been said that the Orca whale once had legs which were useless and were changed to fins. Scientists are not shore though.

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Foods and eating/hunting habits

The Orca eats fish, squid, penguins, sea lions, and the Orca is the only whale that eats other whales. The Orca Whale sucks fish from fishermen's lines.

Orcas hunts in pods. Orcas find food by echolocation. Orcas tend to toss there victims around as play before eating them. The Orca is the only whale that attacks and kills animals on shore. The Orca has been seen with just seal tongue, brain, intestine, walrus insides and other animals insides.

The Orca had no predators until people had guns. As a fact, the American Army decided to use Orca Whales for target practice and killed many thousands a couple of years ago but I am not to sure when.

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