Orca (Killer Whale)

Orcas are nicknamed killer whales, but they're actually the largest member of the dolphin family. They live in family pods led by wise grandmothers, share food, and teach their kids clever hunting tricks found nowhere else.

Orcas live in every ocean, from the ice at the poles to the warm tropics, which makes them one of the most widespread mammals on Earth. Despite the nickname killer whale, an orca is the largest member of the dolphin family. Its black-and-white body is built for power: a big male can weigh over 20,000 lb, with a tall dorsal fin standing up like a sail. Orcas are fast, bursting past 30 mph, and clever, with big brains and a memory for people and places that lasts a lifetime.

Different orca families eat different things, and they pass their menus down through the generations. Some groups eat only fish, such as salmon; others hunt seals, sea lions and even other whales. Each family has its own hunting tricks. Orcas around Antarctica swim together to make a wave that washes a seal off a floating ice sheet, and orcas in Argentina slide right up onto the beach to grab a sea lion — a dangerous move that adults spend years teaching their young.

An orca pod is a family that stays together for life, and it is led by the oldest female — grandmothers who can live past 80 and who know where to find food when times are hard. Each pod has its own dialect of calls, so scientists can tell families apart just by listening. Calves are born into this family and never leave it; sons stay with their mothers for their whole lives. Orcas are listed as data deficient, which means scientists do not yet know enough about many populations to say how safe they are — but some, like the salmon-eating orcas of the Pacific Northwest, are in serious trouble.

Here is every orca fact from this page and the orca quiz in one list — handy for a school project or a car-ride quiz.

1. Orcas are the biggest dolphins in the world, not true whales.
2. Each orca family pod has its own dialect of calls.
3. Orca pods are usually led by the oldest grandmother.
4. Orcas are among the fastest sea mammals, with bursts over 30 mph.
5. Some orcas make waves on purpose to wash seals off ice floes — a trick they teach their young.
6. Few animals are found in as many places as the orca.

❓ Common questions about orcas

No — orcas are wild animals that belong in the wild, and keeping one would be unsafe and almost always illegal. But if orcas are your favorite, here's the closest pet you actually can welcome home:

Meet the FishBecause no pet is an orca, but a well-kept aquarium lets you enjoy the underwater world at home. See care guide →

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