Orca (Orcinus orca), more commonly called the killer whale, is the largest member of the dolphin family. They live in groups called pods, usually led by a matriarch, and are found in all the worlds oceans from Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas. Orcas feed on a wide variety of prey items from bite-sized fish to marine mammals as large as gray whales. There is even recent footage of an Orca killing a great white shark of the California coast. Orca tend to exploit the most abundant prey in their habitat and develope specific strategies for catching it. Killer whales visiting a seal colony in Pategonia actually beach themselves in order to catch seals pups. Others hunt cooperatively to prey on sardines and salmon. Their behaviors are taught to their young, creating a killer culture unique to each pod.
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