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Wildlife Sightings Blog
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Whale and
Dolphin watching on the Isle of Mull
Killer Whales
Also known as Orca, this large
black and white species is easily identified, however it is the
largest species of Dolphin on the planet and not a whale as often
thought.
 Males
can reach 9m in length and the females are slightly smaller at
around 6-7metres. This species is very easily identified, mainly
black on top, the entire underside is white, and there have a
white side stripe and white eye patch. There is also a grey saddle
patch directly behind the dorsal fin. The males can easily be
identified even at a distance by their huge dorsal fin, in a fully
grown adult male it can reach up to 6ft (1.8m) high, whereas the
fins of the females and calves are smaller and more falcate, or
curved.
Killer Whales are probably the most wide-ranging of the cetacean
species being found in both polar regions and warm tropical
waters. The group of Killer Whales around the Hebrides is
relatively small in comparison with other groups across the world
with up to 8 individuals being seen at one time and 10 different
animals being identified through photo identification techniques.
The individuals we encounter are very wide ranging with one
animal, ‘John Coe’, been seen off the Pembrokeshire coast in 2007
and 2008 and off North-West Ireland in 2004 and again in 2009, on
this occasion he was joined by other members of the pod. Because
they have such a wide range sightings are infrequent and
impossible to predict, however they can occur at any time
throughout the year.
There are three types of Killer Whale; Resident, Transient and
offshore. They can usually be identified by
their group size behaviour and food
preference. Residents are more fish eaters, whilst transients are
marine mammal specialists with things like Seals, Sea Lions and
smaller cetaceans making up the majority of their diet, and whilst
little is known about the offshore populations it is thought they
will prey mainly on larger fish and Sharks. The whale population
around the Hebrides was first thought to be fish eaters, however
there has been at least one confirmed occurrence of them feeding
on marine mammals, namely Harbour Porpoise.
It is suggested that the name Killer Whale came from Whale
Killers, which was a nickname the species was given during the
main whaling period. Killer Whales would often be seen following
the whaling ships and then attacking the dead great whales that
would be being towed back to port behind the whaling vessels.
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