Talk:Orca/Archive 2

message: Heavy ship noise has caused some groups of orca to change the frequencies of their songs and calls.
:What does frequency mean, here? Frequency as in pitch, or frequentness? If it is the former, I suggest it be changed into a link to frequency.
::It means frequency as in pitch (i.e. has units of hertz). Pcb21| Pete 18:16, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Frequency of songs

message: I've seen both 'orca' and 'orcas' used as the plural of 'orca'. Is this a sheep/sheep thingy or should it be orcas throughout? 145.97.223.187 14:14, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: The plural is Orca. So like the sheep. Pcb21| Pete 18:16, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: MSN Encarta Dictionary claims that the plural is "orcas".  I was unable to find any other site which offered an authoritative opinion on this. - Brian Kendig 22:16, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)

text: I think it is true to say that it is more common in captive Orca, but it doesn't happen only to them. I've seen several wild Orca with dorsal fins like that. Pcb21| Pete 22:30, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  plural of orca 

message: http://www.penderisland.info/wildlife/orca.htm
Some of the paragraphs match this article's, and the site carries a copyright. I don't know who borrowed from who--Wikipedia from PenderIsland.info, or the other way around. Jonathan Grynspan 19:12, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: The ones in common appear to be public domain photos from the NOAA. I am pretty confident that there are no copyright violations on any page in :Category:Cetaceans. Pcb21| Pete 22:37, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I was talking about the text, not the photos. Jonathan Grynspan 18:04, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Oh yes! I didn't read the text! Well I can confirm that it is them nicking from us and not the other way around. I wrote a good deal of this article myself, and its evolution through time can be checked using the "history" feature. Pcb21| Pete 19:37, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Possible plagiarism 

message: The article states that at least 7 species of seabirds are eaten by orcas, including all penguins. According to the penguin article, however, there are up to 18 species of penguins (Spheniscidae) depending on which have full species status. In any case there seem to be at least 15. That would put the minimal number of seabirds eaten by Orcinus (including at least 1 species of cormorant) to 16.
:Fixed. Nurg 08:55, 4 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  How many species of seabirds ? 

message: Someone has added a list of names for orca in other languages. Much as I enjoy polyglot lists, this doesn't seem like something that we will want to keep. The foreign names that were already enumerated in the Naming section were done with a specific point in mind: that in many languages the Orca has a fierce sounding name. Adding a complete list doesn't seem to add much. Well, actually, were I in charge of wikipedia I would love to have this kind of list in every article, but it seems to me that the consensus is that such things are more suited for wiktionary. Should we move it? --Iustinus 15:00, 11 September 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I totally agree and have made the exact same case in the past multiple times. I did edit the new material to bring it up to par with the rest of the article in terms of formatting, but I am not particularly committed to keeping it. —HorsePunchKid→龜 19:24, 11 September 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: OK, I did transfer it to Wikt:Orca, and added a note to editors not to add more names without a specific reason. --Iustinus 20:20, 13 September 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Other Languages 

message: it says the orca is the most distributed mammal after humans. What about the blue whale and sperm whale that are more distributed than humans? --chad 09:41, 6 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I don't think either of those are more distributed than humans. Pcb21 Pete 13:22, 17 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Distribution further 

message: I'm wondering, just out of interest, whether the kind of release suggested by the pressure group, as detailed in Orca#Captivity, has ever been successful. - Samsara 21:31, 19 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Short answer? Never ... the only successful releases have been of orca that have only been held a short time in captivity - weeks rather than months/years. Despite throwing $30 to $40 Million into the project, Keiko´s release ( for example ) was a complete failure. SammytheSeal 11:24, 22 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Releases from captivity ever successful? 

message: Are orcas dolphins?
:Yes, because they are the Delphinidae family. Pcb21 Pete 16:20, 7 April 2006 (UTC)
replies: text:  I disagree with changing killer whale to orca over the entire article - many use the term killer whale in preference to orca, especially scientists/researchers working in the field - in addition, the name killer whale is an apt description / common name for a whale that kills very efficiently for the most part SammytheSeal 14:01, 9 August 2006 (UTC)
replies: text:  Kind of amusing that the article says the use of both names leads to confusion... and then goes on to use both names, though, don't you think?  What about instances of the word "whale" on its own, as orcas are not whales? Lomaprieta 21:26, 9 August 2006 (UTC)
replies: text:  Sort of ;O) - I remember an old saying  " All dolphins are whales, but not all whales are dolphins " .... still holds true .. I personally doubt if anyone is going to get confused over the matter - if someone is going to be confused between orca or killer whale then I would say they have waaaay too much time on their hands ...:) I´d just leave it as it is and keep everbody happy..SammytheSeal 08:22, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Bad taxonomy makes me twitch, but that's not your problem.  I'll leave it unless somehow a few more people come in and decide that this is a grievous error what needs to be corrected right this minute, or something.  Thanks!  Lomaprieta 10:08, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  orcas & dolphins 

message: Under Environmental threats... Press Telegram report on this population.
Should the offsite ref still be listed? It no longer links to a page involving the pod. Just wondering. Ecophreek 00:51, 14 April 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Added link to a site that does talk about this pod.Ecophreek 17:00, 14 April 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Well that's a good solution. Thanks Ecophreek. Pcb21 Pete 08:36, 18 April 2006 (UTC)

text: I am not sure there is a formal policy, but I think we should link directly to the English version. Pcb21 Pete 08:36, 18 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Reference gone 

message: Should the link go to the main page of a foriegn language website or to the english version page of said website? Ecophreek 18:16, 15 April 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I am not sure there is a formal policy, but I think we should link directly to the English version. Pcb21 Pete 08:36, 18 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: What is the policy for external links?