Orcinus orca, or more commonly known as the Killer Whale. They take our
breath away with every majestic leap. Once regarded as simple predators, we
now understand orcas to be complex, intelligent, and gentle creatures. In
fact they are not really whales at all, but the largest members of the
dolphin family.
In the wild, orcas swim up to 100 miles a day, dive hundreds of feet into
the water, and use a highly developed sonar called echo location to hunt for
food and to explore the vast and mysterious ocean. They have a life
expectancy between 40 and 70+ years.
Orcas have a brain 5 times the size of our own, giving them an exceptional
capacity for memory and communication. They are extremely social beings,
roaming the vast oceans in matriarchal societies of closely-knit family
pods. They play, hunt, and travel together never leaving each other’s side.
Orcas develop very close bonds with one another and stay with their mothers
for their entire lives.
For more information about Tim's work, visit Rattle the Cage Productions: Documentaries on Animal and Environmental Protection http://www.rattlethecage.org/.