The groups in which killer whales usually live are called pods. Members of pods usually stay together for life. Closely related pods often join together temporarily to form clans. Many clans have developed a complex and unique form of communication or dialect. Occasionally, two or more pods will come together to form superpods of 150 or more whales.
Females have relatively small, backward-curving dorsal fins.
Illustrations and text taken in part are from Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises by Mark Carwardine, DK Publishing, Inc., 1995.