European immigrants to the Pacific Northwest have until recently tended to see the orca as a vicious predator in need of eradication. Overall, orcas' communicative abilities and sophisticated social systems have gone almost completely unnoticed. Only since long-term population studies began in the 1970's has a new and a better informed view of the orca become available. As a society, we are only now beginning to comprehend the species' natural history, their long evolutionary development, their deeply embedded social and family bonding, their highly diverse cultural traditions, and their essential roles in marine ecosystems. Very few educational or media programs have yet addressed these and other new understandings of this fascinating marine mammal.
Orcas live in matrilineal family groups called pods.
An adult orca consumes 100-300 pounds of food a day, depending on size and energy needs. A pod's unique vocabulary of calls is called a dialect. As it swims along near the water's surface, an orca may rise to breathe every few seconds or dive for up to twenty minutes. Orcas have a 16-17 month gestation period.