Killer Whales Research Paper

The origin of modern day whales, a mystery that has puzzled paleontologists for years, may have just been solved with the discovery of an ankle bone. This discovery might sound simple and unimportant, but the bones of these ancient animals hold many unanswered questions and provide solid proof of origin and behavior. The relationship between whales and other animals has proven to be difficult because whales are warm-blooded, like humans, yet they live in the sea. The fact that they are warm-blooded suggests that they are related to some type of land animal. However, the questions of exactly which animal, and how whales evolved from land to water, have remained unanswered until now.

There is no doubt that humans have always been intrigued with the majestic beauty of the large giants found in all of the world’s oceans. Whales and people have had a long history together, marked by many turns of events.

The dorsal fin is triangular, and has been know to grow in excess of 6 feet in length on males, but grow no more than 3 feet on females. (Martin) The pectoral fins of the orca can measure up to one sixth of it’s body length and is in the shape of a paddle. The orca usually have 40-50 conical teeth which measure over 2 inches in length, and has a perfect fit with the opposite set which makes it an excellent hunter. Although the teeth are robust, they do a lot of work through the years because older orcas have been known to have teeth worn down to the gum tissue (Haley.) The tongue of a killer whale has been known to weigh in excess of 2 tons (Martin.) They have been known to be fearless hunter, and a fast predator. Some say the ferocity of the killer whale exceeds that of the great white shark, which makes it one of the most feared in ocean life.

Recent evidence suggests that whales may not have always inhabited the oceans. Bones of an ancient ancestor of modern day whales, the Basilosaurus, were discovered in Pakistan that suggest whales evolved from a wolf-like creature. This genus of an early whale lived 34-40 million years ago in the late Eocene. These fossils show many different features in common with both modern day whales and modern day land mammals. Since the discovery of these bones, many other evidences show that whales are a likely descendant of the Basilosaurus through many different ways, such as embryologic comparison and DNA testing. Whales aren’t the only suspected descendants

process. With the remaining dead whales, they cut them open and fill them with heavy objects to

Occasionally, the whales will fight with each other due to stress, but since they are in such a small enclosure they have nowhere to go to get away from each other like they would in the wild. Many orcas that are held in captivity have problems with their teeth and they have to have their teeth drilled. “All captive adult male orcas have collapsed dorsal fins, likely because they have no space in which to swim freely and are fed an unnatural diet of thawed dead fish”(8 Reasons). Some killer whales also develop infections and the whales are not healthy because they are not fed a healthy diet like they would eat in the ocean.

Whales kept at marine mammal parks, have been known to bite along the steel gates that separate the whales in order to help relieve their stress, however; this results in broken teeth and other oral problems.

Orcinus Orca, or more commonly known as the Killer Whale, is found in waters worldwide ranging from the Antarctic to tropical regions. Killer Whales are considered to be apex predators of the ocean and have no natural predators. Killer Whales have been observed consuming a large diversity of different marine animals such as fish and squid (Coscarella et al., 2015) and also prey on Subantarctic Fur Seals, which is what they are more commonly known to feed on (Pistorius et al., 2012). Pitman and Durban (2010) also made observations of Killer Whales hunting penguins in the Antarctic. Trying to understand how this top predator regulates the food web involves knowing the relationships among species and also their population size and diet (Coscarella et al., 2015). Killer Whales use different hunting techniques while trying to catch their food and are also very social creatures and tend to hunt in pods. Some Killer Whales have been observed simply chasing their prey until they tire or using a more advanced hunting tactic such as diving to deep depths to get their food, also another unusual activity observed are Killer Whales playing with their food.

In the article, “Sperm Whales and Killer Whales with the Largest Brain of All Toothed Whales Show Extreme Differences in Cerebellum” the author Sam H. Ridgway studies the cerebellums of the most widest distributed whales in the world. The killer whale and the sperm whale both have huge brains, but this study suggests why the killer whales have a significantly larger cerebellum than that of the sperm whale. After collecting, measuring, and preserving the species, the skull was ready to be chipped away and the brain ready to be taken from the massive cranium. Once extracted, the brain was measured to determine the cerebellar volume: (length of cerebellum base × width of the base × height × 1/3).

Have you ever thought of a shark being gentle? The whale shark is known as a “gentle giant” because they do not attack humans, it would be very uncommon. Scientists still have not discovered many others, as they may say. The whale shark has many very cool characteristics that help them live their life.

Scientists are now worried after a group of killer whales appeared in a group in the Northern part of the Pacific Ocean. This whale belongs to the dolphin family, and is considered the largest in that family. The whale is also known as orca and has teeth. Most of them feed on diverse diet, but individual whales have their own prey. There are those who feed on fish, while others hunt for dolphins and seals. They are known as apex predators because no animal can dare to prey on them. They are cosmopolitan and can be found on any ocean in the world.

Only Baleen whales eat in this way, one of two categories of whales. The other category is Toothed

Whales breathe air into lungs like all animals and are also warm blooded. They feed their young milk and have very little hair. Their tail fins also known as flukes allow themselves to glide through the water. Most species’ of whales have a fin on their backs which is also known

The biggest fish, the whale shark, is sustained by plankton. Bait fish also feed on plankton in different parts of the ocean. When the whale shark arrives, the tiny fish swarm around it to use as a shield because other fish are also looking for prey. When whale shark dives down, it gives tuna a chance to catch the tiny fish. Then, the whale shark comes back up and gulps a mouthful of the baitfish instead of plankton. The whale shark and tuna now eat the smaller fish together but tuna must be careful not to get eaten by whale shark. The baitfish benefit from being protected from the tuna by the whale shark but end up being eaten by the whale shark. The whale shark helps the tuna get food at their own risk. The whale shark and tuna work

Killer whales are massive animals that have an extremely large dorsal fin with the black and white markings being their most unique feature. The