04.10.2020 Animal of The Week: Orca

Hello everyone.

This week's animal of the week is Orca. They are also known as killer whales.

Habitat

Orcas live all over the world. They migrate according to where their prey are. However they are more common in colder waters.

Diet

Orcas are at the top of the food chain and have very diverse diets, eating mainly fish but also penguins, and marine mammals such as seals, and even other whales. They hunt (and live) in groups, making them very dangerous to certain species.

Dangers

There are a few dangers that they face, although for now the population doesn't seem to be suffereing. Some of these are:

-Hunting for entertainment as they are intelligent creatures and so appeal to people who want to test their skills.

-Polluted waters can be a threat as when certain chemicals get into the orca, most likely from their prey, they can be lethal. These can get into the water by oil leaks and chemical leeches.

-Prey as overfishing can cause prey to become scarce

-Fisherman see them as a threat as they can intercept the catch and while some will shoo them away or lure them away by gentle methods, others will shoot them.

-Lastly a threat it shares with nearly all the creatures in the world: climate change. The rising sea levels and changing temperatures can affect their prey as they move to other areas.

Are Orcas dangerous for humans

There have been no fatal attacks on humans in the wild. Four people have been killed by captive orcas. However it is thought that captive orcas suffer due to being confined and can therefore become aggressive.

Thank you so much for reading this post. Please remember to pass the blog address onto anyone who may be interested and to subscribe by email. Thank you!

Sources:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/orca/
https://www.britannica.com/animal/killer-whale

Images:

An Orca Whale Jumping out of the Water is owned by Adam Ernster on pexels.com.

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