Orcas (killer whales) live in closely-knit family groups or pods of between 5 and 30 members. A typical small pod consists of an adult male with several adult females and their young. Larger pods may have several adult males. Females stay within their pods for life, but males move from pod to pod, often because the pod they are living with has become too large. Pods seldom spread out more than 1km when they are swimming together. Usually orcas stay close to the surface, although they can dive to 300m. They are very playful animals, and can often be observed racing along the surface of the water, or breaching, that is rising out of the water to land with a huge splash. It is thought that breaching could be a form of communication between pod members.
Explore Related Resources
small.original.avif)
Our Supporters
