Killer whales have been observed in all oceans and seas of the world. Although reported from tropical and offshore waters, they occur at higher densities in colder and more productive waters, with the greatest densities found at high latitudes. Along the west coast of North America, killer whales occur along the entire Alaskan coast, in British Columbia and Washington inland waters, and along the outer coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California. Seasonal and year-round occurrence has been noted for killer whales throughout Alaska and in the intracoastal waterways of British Columbia and Washington State, where pods have been labeled as ‘resident,’ ‘transient,’ and ‘offshore’ based on aspects of morphology, ecology, genetics, acoustics and behavior. Through examination of photographs of individuals recognizable by differences in dorsal fin shape and saddle patch patterns, movements of whales between geographical areas have been documented. For example, Alaskan killer whales have been observed in British Columbia, Washington and California. When born, killer whales are 2.1 to 2.4 m long and weigh up to 180 kg; by the time they are adults, males are 9.5 m and weigh at least 8 tons, and females are 7 m long and weigh up to 4 tons.
- PARSONS, K. M., K. C. BALCOMB III, J. K. B. FORD, and J. W. DURBAN.
2009. The social dynamics of southern resident killer whales and conservation implications for this endangered population. Anim. Behav. 77:963-971.
- STEIGER, G. H., J. CALAMBOKIDIS, J. M. STRALEY, L. M. HERMAN, S. CERCHIO, D. R. SALDEN, J. URBÁN-R., J. K. JACOBSEN, O. von ZIEGESAR, K. C. BALCOMB, C. M. GABRIELE, M. L. DAHLHEIM, S. UCHIDA, J. K. B. FORD , P. LADRÓN de GUEVARA-P., M. YAMAGUCHI, and J. BARLOW.
2008. Geographic variation in killer whale attacks on humpback whales in the North Pacific: Implications for predation pressure. Endang. Species Res. 4:247-256. (.pdf, 459KB). Online.
- HERMAN, D. P., C. O. MATKIN, G. M. YLITALO, J. W. DURBAN, M. B. HANSON, M. E. DAHLHEIM, J. M. STRALEY, P. R. WADE, K. L. TILBURY, R. H. BOYER, R. W. PEARCE, and M. M. KRAHN.
2008. Assessing age distributions of killer whale Orcinus orca populations from the composition of endogenous fatty acids in their outer blubber layers. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 372:289-302.
- SHULEZHKO, T. S., and V. N. BURKANOV.
2008. Stereotyped acoustic signals of the killer whale Orcinus orca (Cetacea: Delphinidae) from the northwestern Pacific. Russian J. Mar. Biol. 34:118-125.
- Search the AFSC database for additional Killer Whale publications
- Killer Whale Predation on Northern Fur Seals - Is it Increasing?
2.85MB Online.
- Killer Whale Occurrence & Interactions With Belugas In Cook Inlet, Alaska
166KB Online.
- The Southern Resident Killer Whale Community of the Pacific Northwest, a Policy Analysis for Conservation
48KB Online.
- Search the AFSC database for additional Killer Whale posters
- AT1 Transient: 2005
- Eastern North Pacific Alaska Resident: 2006 2005
- Eastern North Pacific Northern Resident: 2005 2001 1998
- Eastern North Pacific Offshore: 2003 2000 1999
- Eastern North Pacific Transient: 2000 1999 1998
- Eastern North Pacific Southern Resident: 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999
- Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian Islands, and Bering Sea Transient: 2006 2005
- Hawaii: 2004 2000
- Northern Gulf of Mexico: 2005 2003 1995
- West Coast Transient: 2005
- Western North Atlantic: 2000 1995