KILLER WHALESBy Teagan

CONTENTS

1. What family of sea mammals do killer whales come from2. Where do they live3. How can they live in the cold water4. Migrations5. How fast can they swim6. Killer whales colours7. How do they catch seals who are resting on the beach8. Are all killer whales black and white9. Iceberg the killer whale 10.The dorsal fin11.The tail flukes12.The pectoral fins13.What do they eat14.how long, high, heavy and wide can the adults get15.Killer whales in captivity16.Other simple facts17.Bibliography18.credits

WHAT FAMILY OF SEA MAMMALS DO KILLER WHALES COME

FROM• Killer whales are the

biggest species of dolphins. Therefore they are dolphins.

• They love to play like dolphins and are quite smart

• Killer whales are big versions of dolphins

WHERE DO THEY LIVE

• Killer whales live in the in the cold waters of the northern pacific ocean, the Atlantic ocean and the artic sea.

• They are often found off the west coast of north America, near Alaska.

• They also live in the south of Africa and Australia.

HOW LONG CAN THEY HOLD THEIR BREATH

FOR• When the whales are travelling fast they will breathe

more often.

• When killer whales are resting, they take 3 or 4 breaths followed by a longer one that can hold for about 3 minutes.

• Occasionally, killer whales hold their breath for as long as 12 minutes!

MIGRATIONS

• Killer whales migrate to warmer areas to give birth and mate.

• If the babies were born in cold water then they would freeze to death because they are born without an extra layer of blubber.

=where killer whales live

HOW DO THEY CATCH SEALS WHO ARE RESTING ON ICE

OR ON THE BEACH• Killer whales are the only sea animals who can surf

on to the beach and still get them selves off. Surfing makes the seals on the beach panic and they try to get away by diving into the sea, except there are killer whales waiting for them and once they’re caught, the killer whale on the beach uses it’s tail flukes and fins to get back in to the water

• seals on the ice are a different story. The killer whales make waves with their tails and fins to wash the seals off. The killer whales aren’t always lucky because if the seals are fast then some times they get away.

HOW FAST CAN THEY SWIM

• they can swim fast with their powerful tail pushing them along and helping them leap out of the water.

• In a short burst of energy they can go up to 50 kilometres per hour to help them catch their prey.

• A killer whales cruising speed can get up to 6 or 7 kilometres per hour.

• Some times killer whale surf on waves to save energy.

KILLER WHALES COLOURS

• The entire back and pectoral fins are black except for the grey saddle.

• The bottom surface is white as well the lower jaw and the undersides of the tail flukes. An oval white eyespot is just above and slightly behind each eye.

ARE ALL KILLER WHALES BLACK AND

WHITE• Not all killer whales are

black and white some can be tinged pink and type a, b, c and d killer whales are all different.

• There has been a fully white killer whale spotted named iceberg and it is probably the only white one in the world

ICEBERG THE KILLER WHALE

Scientists were studying social interactions among whales and dolphins off the North Pacific's Commander Islands when the team noticed a nearly two meter tall white dorsal fin jutting above the waves, the killer whale was named Iceberg.

Iceberg may be the same killer whale scientists spotted in 2000 and 2008 in Alaska's Aleutian Islands. The 7 meter long Iceberg is probably not a true albino, since he has colour on his saddle. Iceberg is a mature male of at least 16 years of age.

Iceberg

THE DORSAL FIN

• The dorsal fin is made of dense, fibrous connective tissue, without bones or cartilage.

• The dorsal fin of a male killer whale is larger than a female. In adult males, the dorsal fin is tall and triangular. Reaching a height of up to 1.8 m and it can get very sharp.

• In most females, the dorsal fin is backward curving and smaller—about 0.9 to 1.2 m tall.

• Like the keel of a boat, the dorsal fin may help stabilize a killer whale as it swims at high speeds, but a fin is not essential to a whale’s balance.

THE TAIL FLUKES

• Each lobe of the two-lobed tail is called a fluke. Flukes are flat pads of tough, dense, fibrous connective tissue, completely without bone or cartilage.

• A large male killer whale may have tail flukes measuring 2.75 m from tip to tip.

• muscles in the back one-third of the body (both above and below the spine) move the flukes up and down.

THE PECTORAL FINS

• A killer whale's forelimbs are adapted for swimming. A killer whales uses its rounded, paddle like pectoral flippers to steer and, with the help of the flukes, to stop.

• Blood circulation in the pectoral flippers adjusts to help maintain body temperature.

• Pectoral flippers have the major skeletal elements of the forelimbs of land mammals, but they are shortened. The skeletal elements are supported by connective tissue.

WHAT DO THEY EAT

• A killer whales diet consists of fish, squid, seals, sea lions, penguins, dolphins, (if they can keep up with them), porpoises, reptiles, polar bears, moose and large whales.

• Killer whales don’t normally attack humans unless you annoy them just like any other animal.

HOW LONG, HIGH, HEAVY AND WIDE CAN KILLER

WHALES GET• Males can get to the

long length of 9.8m. Their about as long as a school bus and females to the length of 8.5m

• Males can get to the weight of 10,000kg and females 7,500kg

• Female killer whales dorsal fin can get to 3 ft which means that only 3 ft is not the body.

KILLER WHALES IN CAPTIVITY

• they were first captured live and displayed in exhibitions in the 1960s, and soon became popular attractions at public aquariums and aquatic theme parks due to their intelligence, trainability, striking appearance, playfulness, and size. On August 13, 2013, there are 45 orcas in captivity worldwide, 32 are captive-born.

• The first live killer whale captured in Russia was an 5.5 m long female estimated to be about six years old, captured off the Pacific coast of the Kamchatka district on September 26, 2003. She was transferred over 11,000 km to a marine park owned by the Utrish Dolphinarium on the Black Sea, where she died in October 2003 after less than a month in captivity.

OTHER SIMPLE FACTS

• Female killer whales are called cows

• Male killer whales are called bulls

• Babies are called calves

• A group of them are called a pod

• Killer whales can be called blackfish, grampus and orcas

• They live 50-80 years in the wild

BIBLIOGRAPHY• The book dolphins and porpoises

• http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/mammals/killer-whale/

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whale

• http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/nmml/education/cetaceans/killer.php

• https://www.ucls.uchicago.edu/students/projects/1996-97/Hillocks96/killer_whales.html

• http://seaworld.org/animal-info/animal-infobooks/killer-whale/physical-characteristics/

• http://www.whalefacts.org/killer-whale-facts/

• http://news.nationalgeographic.com.au/news/2012/04/120425-white-killer-whale-russia-animals-science-albino/

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captive_killer_whales

CREDITS

• By Teagan

• Added suggestions from Emily

• Proof read on some slides by Zoe (she just happened to be leaning over then she started to read)

Proof read by Scarlett and Emily