Orca

Cute Orca

The Orca or Killer Whale is the largest species of dolphin in the world. It lives in all oceans across the world, from cold arctic seas to warm, tropical seas, although it does prefer cooler temperatures in the polar regions. The total global population is estimated to be around 100,000. Some local populations are considered threathened or endangered due to pollution, depletion of prey, capture for zoos and habitat loss.

Orca's are highly intelligent. They have a culture that passes learned behavior from generation to generation through the use of different dialects.

Also called:	Killer Whale, Blackfish, Seawolf
Latin name:	Orcinus orca
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Cetacea
Family:	Delphinidae
Size:	Males are 19 to 26 feet (6 to 8 meters) and females 16 to 23 feet (5 to 7 meters) in length
International names:
Spækhugger (Danish)
Orka / Zwaardwalvis (Dutch)
Miekkavalas (Finnish)
Orque / Épaulard (French)
Großer Schwertwal (German)
Orca (Italian)
Sakamata / Sadshi (Japanese)
Spekkhugger (Norwegian)
Orka / Miecznik (Polish)
Orca (Portuguese)
Orca (Spanish)
Späckhuggare (Swedish)