Killer Whale

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Scientific Name:
                                   Orcinus orca

Recognition:
                       The killer whale is named in recognition of the significant role of warm-blooded                                 prey in its diet

Food & Feeding:
                                   --- One of the most varied diets of all cetaceans
                                   --- Prey include at least 24 species of cetaceans, five species of pinniped,                                            dugong, 30 species of fish, 7 species of bird and 2 species of squid,                                            inaddition to a variety of other warm-blooded and cold-blooded creatures
                                   --- Feeding dives to depths of less than 100m                              

Life Cycle: 
                        --- Reproductive characteristics have not been firmly established
                        --- Gestation lasts at least a year, perhaps several months longer
                        --- Calves born in fall and winter
                        --- Calves dependent for more than a year
                        --- Calves interval averages more than 2 years    

World Population:
                                      --- Total world population unknown
                                            --- 350 in Vancouver Island, Canada and Washington State
                                            --- 6618 in Iceland and Faeroese
                                            --- 289 in Shekilof Strait, Prince William Sound and southeastern Alaska
                                            --- total of 324 individuals in Alaska