The killer whale (Orcinus orca), also referred to as the orca whale or orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family.
Information
In the Real World
Transient killer whales near Unimak Island, eastern Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Orcas, or killer whales, are the largest of the dolphins and one of the world's most powerful predators. They feast on marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, and even whales, employing teeth that can be four inches (ten centimeters) long. They are known to grab seals right off the ice. They also eat fish, squid, and seabirds.
Though they often frequent cold, coastal waters, orcas can be found from the polar regions to the Equator.
Killer whales hunt in deadly pods, family groups of up to 40 individuals. There appear to be both resident and transient pod populations of killer whales. These different groups may prey on different animals and use different techniques to catch them. Resident pods tend to prefer fish, while transient pods target marine mammals. All pods use effective, cooperative hunting techniques that some liken to the behavior of wolf packs.
Whales make a wide variety of communicative sounds, and each pod has distinctive noises that its members will recognize even at a distance. They use echolocation to communicate and hunt, making sounds that travel underwater until they encounter objects, then bounce back, revealing their location, size, and shape.
Killer whales are protective of their young, and other adolescent females often assist the mother in caring for them. Mothers give birth every three to ten years, after a 17-month pregnancy.
Orcas are immediately recognizable by their distinctive black-and-white coloring and are the intelligent, trainable stars of many aquarium shows. Killer whales have never been extensively hunted by humans, but killer whales have been known to attack humans, both in the wild and in captivity, and very few killer whales have killed humans.
In the Happy Feet franchise
In Happy Feet, two killer whales are the final antagonists that are non-speaking during the film. They try to eat Mumble, the Amigos and Lovelace, fortunatly they do not succeed. They grab the chain of the bell Lovelace had gotten stuck to and throw it. While he is flying through the air, the plastic six-pack rings slip off Lovelace's neck, which stops him from choking. The whales also show how dangerous humans can be, as they both have deep wounds, likely but not confirmedly, from boat propellors on their backs. On their appearance, they have scars on their backs, but not like the killer whales in real life. Although like Monstro or the Whale from Finding Nemo, they are all whales but are very different. They were mainly black and white.
In the sequel, a killer whale appears as a cameo when he/she hits an iceberg from a polar bear and The Mighty Sven as part of the song "The Mighty Sven".
In the 3DS/DS version of Happy Feet Two: The Video Game, a killer whale appear as a boss.
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