From mid-February through April, the flow will be back to the north, with a few stragglers passing Monterey in May or June. Orcas, also called killer whales, are the largest member of the dolphin family. They're intelligent predators that live in family groups, called pods, of up to two dozen animals. Orcas are thought to live between 50 and 80 years. They can be reproductively active all year 'round.
Males are larger than females, and the mature males have a taller dorsal fin.
They hunt fishes and sea mammals. Because orcas hunt in a pack, they can bring down the largest sharks and sea mammals. Orcas in the Puget Sound area eat a good deal of salmon and a few seals and sea lions. The transient groups that move through Monterey Bay from time to time probably eat more seals and sea lions, as well as the occasional gray whale calf. Once paralyzed, the squid fall easy prey to the whale.