Killer Whale Feeding Habits
Found in all the oceans of the world, the killer whale is a fierce hunter. It hunts in packs, and cooperates in attacking its prey in much the same way that wolves do.
Its diet consists of sea lions, elephant seals, porpoises, squid, sharks, fish, penguins, and smaller whales. While it is known to attack very large whales, successful attacks on large whales are probably limited to sick or wounded whales. No case of its attacking a human has ever been documented.
Killer whales usually attack gray whale calves. However, killer whales have recently been seen attacking adult gray whales. These unusual attacks have alarmed scientists for two reasons. They may mean that other killer whale food sources have diminished. They also may pose a significant threat to the gray whale population.
The male killer whale can grow as large as 32 feet (9.6 m) long, and weigh 8 or 9 tons. The female can reach 23 feet (8.2 m) in length, and weigh 4 tons. The mouth of the killer whale is large and well adapted for hunting. It has 46 to 50 cone-shaped teeth. The teeth point backwards and inwards and interlock. This arrangement aids in gripping large prey and in tearing larger animals into bite-sized pieces.
Gray whales are of interest to killer whales about 20 percent of the time they encounter each other. Killer whales are successful in about 33 percent of their attacks.
The name “killer whale” is gradually being replaced by “orca”, its less hostile sounding scientific name.