Orcas in the Wild

Orcas, or killer whales, are marine mammals that are found in all the oceans of the world, especially the freezing waters of the polar regions. They are easily recognized by their distinct black and white markings and their large dorsal fins. Males can reach 9 metres in length and weigh over 5,000 kilograms; females are slightly smaller, weighing between 1,500 to 3,500 kilograms, with an average length of 6-7 metres.

Orcas live in an aquatic habitat, and spend a large portion of their time travelling. In a single day, an orca may swim as far as 160 kilometres, reaching speeds of more than 50 km/hour. The home range of a group of orcas may vary from over 1,000 square kilometres to over 100,000 square kilometres. For example, individual whales have been identified in Monterey Bay, California that had previously been identified in Alaska. Orcas spend the vast majority of their time underwater and typically dive 30-60 metres below the surface.

Orcas are highly social animals and they spend their entire lives in close-knit family groups called pods, which consist of 1-3 maternal groups. A calf is born into a pod that may include her mother, grandmother, sisters and brothers, aunts, uncles and cousins. A calf remains in very close physical proximity to her mother, although other pod members help in the care and raising of the calf. Even upon reaching sexual maturity, both male and female adult whales will stay with their family pod; only death or capture can separate members of a pod.

The diet of an orca whale is often geographically or population specific. Orcas are carnivores and eat a wide variety of prey, including salmon, shark, squid, sea turtles, sea otters, penguins, sea birds, seals and sealions, manatees, dolphins, and even other whales. Orcas hunt cooperatively, working together as a group, and using different hunting strategies that are passed down to younger members of the pod. Orcas find their way around underwater and hunt their prey using echolocation. They create a "sound" picture by making a rapid series of clicking sounds and listening for the echoes that bounce back from the seabed, other whales, boats, prey animals, or other objects. Using sonar, whales are capable of identifying the shape, density, distance and location of objects.

Aside from clicks for echolocation, orcas also make a variety of calls that resemble high-pitched squawks, whistles and squeals. Biologists have determined that different pods of orcas have discrete calls, or 'dialects'. These calls are an important part of the social lives of orcas, and may contain information about the identity of the whale, including age, sex, and physical condition, as well as location and emotional state. Play behaviour, including breaching, diving, rolling, tail thrashing and spy-hopping, are also important social activities.

Orcas have no natural predators, and are not routinely hunted by humans. The biggest threat that orcas face in the wild is chemical contamination of their marine habitat.

• Space. Orcas live in a vast ocean environment, easily swimming over 100 kilometres in a day. In captivity, these whales are confined to pools that are dramatically smaller than their natural habitat. For example, the Marineland pool in Ontario is only 23m x 7.6m, and is only 6.7m deep. The US minimum standard required for an orca in captivity is a tank with a 14.6m diametre and 3.7m deep. No whale is capable of exhibiting normal behaviours in a tank of this size.
• Exhibit Design. Complex filtration and purification systems are required to maintain clear, clean water is marine park tanks. The pools are designed for the enjoyment of the spectator, not the needs of the orcas. Captive orcas are forced to live in permanently chlorinated water, and are exposed to the constant noise of filtration pumps.
• Food. Orcas are top predators in the wild, and have developed sophisticated hunting strategies, many of them cooperative. In their wild habitat, a great deal of their time is spent travelling and foraging. In captivity however, orcas are given no opportunity to hunt live prey; they are fed a diet of frozen fish, and often, they are required to perform tricks for their food.
• Acoustics. Orcas create 'sound' pictures of their habitat using echolocation. They are highly intelligent and inquisitive about their environment. In captivity, many of their reasons for vocalizing are unnecessary. There is no opportunity to locate and track prey, and the super-clean, sterile tanks offer nothing to navigate or investigate. As well, there is no need to communicate acoustically with other whales using contact calls because of their physical proximity.
• Social Behaviour. In the wild, orcas live in family pods for their entire lives. Much of their time is spent socializing, including vocalizing and playing with other pod members. In captivity, orcas are often held in tanks with whales from different pods, or indeed, from different oceans. Even worse, some whales are completely socially isolated from other whales. For example, Marineland, in Ontario, kept a young male orca isolated in an indoor holding pen for more than four years. Calves born in captivity, if they survive, are often separated from their mothers at as young as six months of age, despite the intense social bond they share.   
• Abnormal Behaviour. Living in an unnatural habitat creates unnatural behaviours. Orcas in captivity exhibit many behaviours - such as repetitive behaviours, lethargy, refusal to eat, self-inflicted injuries (eg. slamming their head or body into the wall of the tank) and aggression between whales or towards trainers - that teach us nothing about the natural behaviour of wild whales.
  

Activities & Curriculum Connections

• The spectrograms used in this workshop are from the Educator Resource materials from Orca United Nations in Jean-Michel Cousteau Ocean Adventures at: http://www.pbs.org/kqed/oceanadventures/educators/killerwhale/orca-un.html
• The orca whale pod identification and dorsal fins are from the book Killer Whales: The Natural History and Genealogy of Orcinus Orca in British Columia and Washington State, by John KB Ford.

Movies:

How Can You Help Orcas in Captivity?

• Join Zoocheck Canada's campaign to get Corky released back into a natural habitat. Check out www.orcalab.org to learn more about the Free Corky campaign. 
  

• Write a letter to SeaWorld San Diego, asking them to release Corky back into a semi-wild or wild habitat. Their address is:

• Host a fundraiser to help orca whales. Your money can be donated to Zoocheck Canada to help us with our campaign to end captivity for killer whales, or to OrcaLab and the Free Corky campaign. Some fun ideas for fundraisers include selling seaweed treats to raise money, or selling tickets for a screening of a orca whale movie at your school.
  

• Create an awareness campaign about orca whales at your school, local library, or community centre. Create posters, brochures or bookmarks to help others learn why orcas are not suited for a life in captivity. Tell others about Corky, an orca whale who has lived in a concrete tank for more than 40 years.
  

• If your class goes on a trip to a marine park that has orca whales, consider conducting an investigation. Create your own checklist, including things like the size and depth of the pool, objects and structures in the tank, the behaviour of the whales, and whether the whales perform circus tricks. Make sure to share the results of your investigation with the marine park, the humane society, wildlife protection groups like Zoocheck Canada, and with your local government.
  

• Instead of visiting wild animals in the zoo or in a marine park, consider visiting an animal sanctuary instead. Sanctuaries provide permanent homes to animals that cannot be released back into the wild. Or, consider learning more about orca whales by visiting their wild habitat - the ocean. You can also learn a lot about orca whales from books, movies and the internet.
  

How Can You Help Orcas in the Wild?