In the wild animals are secretive, and hide in burrows, stalk the night seeking prey and inhabit far off places where man hasn't intruded on their territory. The only time man gets to observe these different animals is when they migrate.
What is the definition of migration? To me and other scientists migration is the moving from one place to another between summer and winter. Other biologists and scientists define migration as the almost entire population of a species moves. One species of Arctic Wildlife that migrates is the Orca, or the Killer Whale.
Other names the Orca Whale is called are: Killer Whale, Orca Dolphin, Blackfish, Grampus, and Great Killer Whale.
The orca is a warm blooded, air breathing mammal. The Orca is the largest member of the dolphin family, weigh about 10,000 pound and grow to about 30 feet long. The male Orca's dorsal fin is as tall as an average man and shaped like a huge triangle. They are very social animals living in family groups.
The bonds between the family members are strong and last for life. The adult Orcas protect the young, the ailing and the hurt members of the pod.
The Orcas, often called the "wolf of the sea" because they hunt for prey in packs or pods. Orcas are very successful hunters and on their menu are a variety of fish, birds like penguins and gulls, squid, small sharks, seals, sea turtles, octopi, and sometimes other whales like the young blue whales. They cooperate with each other and attack very large prey and then share it with each member of the pod. An adult Orca Whale will eat about orca 500 pounds of food each day.
To find their next meal in the ocean the Orcas use echolocation, Echolocation means the Orcas emithigh sound waves like whistles, and scream that bounce off an object and the whale senses the high pitched clicks as they bounce back off objects. Their vocalization is used to communicate with other orcas and for mating purposes. Different pods have definite "accents" and can recognize members by this voice. The Orcas do communicate with clicks, whistles, and scream like pulses. The sounds are used to communicate with other orcas, for mating purposes, and for locating prey.
The color of the Orca's skin is almost all black with some white patches. They have a tall dorsal fin and the male's dorsal fin, some up to six feet tall is shaped like a paddle. The dorsal fin of the female is shorter than the male's fin.
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