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Killer Whales

            
             I remember a long time ago, well not that long ago, when I went to Marine World for the first time. I begged my mom to go to the whale show and wait two hours so that we could get a seat way up front. I was so glad that I got a seat up front because I have never seen a whale besides when I saw them in pictures or on television. I became fascinated by the fact that an animal so huge could move so graceful and have so much force behind its movements. In this whale show the animals did tricks and played with the marine trainers. I am definitely not the first person in the world that has been fascinated by these creatures. There have been discoveries of cave paintings of Killer whales. (Killer Whales 1.).
             Even though I had a great time learning about Killer Whales at Marine World, Marine World is definitely not the ideal place for a Killer Whale to live. Killer Whales" natural habitat is the ocean. They have been known to live in artic and tropical waters and in both deep and coastal waters. They are found in all of the world's oceans and most of the seas. The ideal place for a Killer Whale to live is somewhere with lots of food and somewhat cooler waters (Orca 3.).
             The Killer Whale's scientific name is Orcinus orca. The reason that they are called killer whales is because they are one of the top predators in the sea. They eat most sea life such as; fish seals sea lions, penguins, turtles, octopi, and even birds. They eat whatever they can and they have the capability to do so because they have 40-50 large conical enameled teeth that they use for crushing bones and chewing up their prey. On average, a killer whale will eat 551 pounds of food in one day! (Killer Whales 4.).
             In order to catch the food that they consume, these massive animals are frequently hunting in order to survive. They can dive to a depth of 30 m (100 ft) and swim up to 30 mph in capture their prey. The hunting that occurs is usually done in groups of whales called pods.


Essays Related to Killer Whales

1. Killer Whales

... the typical male characteristics: it gains weight, and its pectoral flippers, dorsal fin, and flukes grow larger than those of females. Female killer whales average about seventeen to twenty-four feet and usually weigh between 3,000 and 8,000 pounds. The largest female recorded was twenty-eight feet and ... white "eyespot" is located just above and slightly behind each eye and a gray saddle is located behind the dorsal fin. The distinctive coloration of killer whales is a type of disruptive coloration, a camouflage in which the color pattern of an animal contradicts the animal's body sha...

  • Word Count: 1855
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

2. types of whales

... with their tails moving up and down (so do all the other whales). The killer whale as well as the sperm whale comes from the Odonteceti group, which means they are toothed whales that prey on fishes, squids, sometimes sharks, and other creatures in the sea. Killer whales and sperm whales are very acrobatic whales; they sometimes jump out of the water then come down slapping the ... water very hard this type of activity is called breaching. Sometimes these whales stick their heads out to take a look outside, this is called lobtailing. Though there are a lot of similarities between ... s...

  • Word Count: 453
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Killer Whales and SeaWorld

... a female is 50-90. However, all scientists agree that the majority of whales kept in captivity do not live more than 20 years (Killer Whales in Captivity). Due to these facts, there have been many debates that whales be let out of captivity and into the wild. But if these animals were ... aggression in captive Orcas is a very common problem. This is caused by a number of things. One being because of the different habitats these whales live in. Whales that are free in the ocean are not "taught" to live a certain way. They are simply born in the ocean and learn ... the sensitive hearing of...

  • Word Count: 1760
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Whales in Captivity

... up and leave. I'd sit there, uncomfortable, anesthetized by thumping music, bright colors and smiling faces. I'd watch a trainer stand on the face of a killer whale, surf its back, spin it in goofy circles, and I would instinctively feel I was beholding something demeaning. But then I'd look around the stadium ... people happy be such a bad thing?" This is a quote from Gabriela Cowperthwaite, the director of the documentary "Blackfish". B. Killer Whales or also known as Orcas, have been held captive in marine parks, like SeaWorld since 1961. They are the largest animals to be held in ......

  • Word Count: 1672
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Orca (Killer Whale)

... is really not a whale. It is the largest member of the dolphin family. Killer whales are mostly black white mostly on the bottom of their stomachs or lower surface, but can also be seen on other parts of their bodies. Male whales have straight, tall (up to 6 foot) dorsal or fins, while females have ... shorter (3 foot) sickle shaped dorsal fins. Killer whales have 46 to 50 cone-shaped teeth that interlock and are used to tear and grasp. The ... Orca uses spyhopping ( a vertical position using tail to keep it upright) to get a better view of its surroundings Habitat Killer Whales or Orca...

  • Word Count: 717
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

6. blue whales

... giving it a yellow to silver- to sulfur-colored sheen; giving the blue whale its nick-name ofsulfur bottoms?. Other names include Sibbald's Rorqual and Great Northern Rorqual. Blue whales (like all baleen whales) are seasonal feeders and carnivores that filter feed tiny crustaceans (krill, copepods, etc), plankton, and small fish from the water. Krill, or shrimp-like euphasiids are no longer ... life expectancy of 35-40 years. However, there are many factors that limit the life span of the Blue whale. Packs of killer whales (orcas) have been known to attack and kill young blue whales or...

  • Word Count: 1566
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Whales

... by a nearly hairless body, broad flippers and a flat notched tail. There are 75 species of Cetaceans, but the two groups are toothed whales and baleen whales. Toothed whales are predators that use their peg-like teeth to catch fish, squid and marine mammals. They swallow them whole. They have one blow hole ... would kill these remarkable creatures is whaling. This is the name for the business or practice of hunting, killing and processing whales. Whaling used to be common practice around the world. Whales are so large and they could provide a large amount of food, blubber, bone and even ...

  • Word Count: 693
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Sei Whales

... now, the sei whale population has diminished. Back in the 1960s, they were heavily exploited by the whaling industry (Katona). Since then, the whales have been highly threatened by noise as well as chemical pollution. Killer whales also prey upon these whales. Their approximate population today is under 70,000 (Aiken). Currently, in the U.S. Atlantic waters, there may be as few as 2,200-2,300 ... individuals, and only 57,000 all together (Shefferly). Although sei whales are relatively free of ectoparasites, many suffer from endoparasitic helminthes, flatworms, which may ... , these lon...

  • Word Count: 1244
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Blackfish - Problems at Seaworld

... date, there has been three reported deaths of trainers because of killer whales that live in captivity. Some people say that these killer whales should not be kept in captivity but there is also an other side of people that say the killer whales are not dangerous and should be kept in captivity. Swimming with killer whales is not too dangerous because SeaWorld cares for their animals extremely ... pool. It will cover 1.5 acres and will be 50 feet deep and 350 feet in length." What this article is trying to explain is that SeaWorld is doing the killer whales a favor and giving them a big...

  • Word Count: 626
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

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