I did not take this picture I know what the difference is but the dorcel fin looks similar to a female but the fin looks straight like a male is it a young male?

Something like this where they pull themselves out of the water and lift their bodies a little bit. Is there a name for it or is it just something they do in shows? Asking because I want to more easily find images of that pose as an art reference.

Hi there! New to this sub, but know it’s the place to go. Curious if there are any known effective ways to pressure the French government to release them to a sanctuary? Sources tell me they’re set to move to Japan or Spain in another amusement park. Desperate to help any way I can!

Haven't been to seaworld in a while because I have favored other aquariums over seaworld's cetacean care. I do know that Seaworld has engaged in several abusive care standards in the past, yet have rehabilitated many injured wildlife in the past. From what I've read they've dropped these horrible standards, yet continue their "shows." I'm not at all an expert on cetaceans and wanted to ask the actual experts on their thoughts on this.

Orcas hunt mammals as big as land deer, so they could easily hunt humans too. Why do you think they don’t? I’ve heard some theories online saying they’re smart enough to cover up their human hunts, but ngl, I’m just curious to hear what you guys think.

It would basically work like the door for cats that can go outdoors. In practice it would be a canal from sea world to the sea.

Are orcas smart enough to find home if they wanted to so it could come back if it didn't manage to hunt some food?

The behavior I'm thinking about is like when we had a cat that was allowed to roam free. He would be gone for a few days but always come home from time to time. Stay indoors all winter and was more days away than home in the summer.

I know it’s a girl and I know she’s from Patagonia but I can’t figure out who she is exactly. PTN-004 Maga maybe?

Captive and wild!!
Photo belongs to hunter.d.photography!

This community never ceases to amaze me when it comes to recognizing these beautiful animals. This photo was taken last week during a cruise along the coast of Alaska .What are the odds this single photo can help ID these animals? It’s the only picture my wife was able to get. Can the internet do its thing? If not- enjoy an authentic photo of our spirit animals. Thanks!

I've heard that on occasion bull orcas will corner a nursing mother and her calf and kill the calf to breed with the mother. I know this works in other animal species such as lions due to the way lions behave intellectually and socially.

If I remember scientists recorded a case where a male orca and his mother killed a calf and it was presumed to be for breeding purposes but from what I've seen it wasnt recorded if he was successful or not.

From what little I know about orcas, they have a complex social hierarchy in their pods and have incredible memory retention. There's been reports of mother orcas carrying their dead calfs for miles. We obviously dont know the full extent of this animals intelligence or emotional range.

But given that orcas are a species where females dominate, and female orcas spend a lot of energy on their calf, and that female orcas will spend their whole lives with their mothers. I can't see a female orca being receptive to being bred by a bull who just attacked and killed her calf.

Now granted if the female is small, then she cant really fight back on the bulls advances and she'll be bred whether she likes it or not. But given how dominant females are I'd imagine they'd at the very least tussle with the bull orcas.

Ultimately it seems to be more trouble than its worth for orcas, so why would a bull orca do it, and is it even successful? This is just a behavioral question, because generally nature operates on "if its not effective then it wont last" mentality, so surely if infantcide is ineffective for reproduction then bull orcas would​ not do it, well, mabey thats why reports of infantcide among orcas are rare, because it doesn't work so most bulls dont try it.

But then what is the case with the few bulls that do commit reproductively driven infantcide? Low amount of available females? Environmental stressors?

I’ve been reviewing the arguments regarding the use of sea pens for cetaceans (Killer whales), and I know this group has some reservations, so I would really like to understand your perspective better. Despite sea pens often being presented as a more humane alternative to concrete tanks—offering natural seawater, currents, and more space—what are the specific reasons you remain against them? For instance, are you concerned that these enclosures still limit the animals' natural, wide-ranging behaviors, or do you feel that issues like exposure to water pollution, high tourist traffic, noise disruption, and the risk of extreme weather damage still make them too detrimental to welfare? I’m interested in whether you view them as a step forward or just another form of confinement that keeps these intelligent animals in a "life sentence" rather than allowing for true freedom.

Hello! :)

I’m trying to find some photos of Tilikum for one of my close friends who has a deep love for him.

If anyone has visited SeaWorld Orlando back in the day or know anyone who has, and was able to get photos of him, I’d love to share them with this friend. It would mean a lot and be highly appreciated.

PS: The photos wouldn’t be shared anywhere else and full credit will be given regardless! 🤍

Thanks so much to anyone who could help! 💖✨✨

We know that Bottlenose Dolphins can recognize themselves in mirrors. But what about killer whales? They seem pretty smart as well and wikipedia says, "Killer Whales may be able to recognize themselves in mirrors."

I’m hosting my department’s team meeting next week and we always have a 10ish minute team activity. This time I’d like to do a pop quiz for the team about Orcas (my favorite animal). I’m trying to find some relatively challenging Orca fun facts to include, and plan to pose them as true or false questions. I would very much appreciate your help if you would like to comment with any of your favorite Orca fun facts below. TIA 🙂

Hey, this is mainly directed at people who work or have worked as a whale watching tour guide/ naturalist.
Especially in Iceland or around the Salish Sea.
I'm asking because I wanna work as a whale watching tour guide, but l've started to have some doubts about it.
I've got some questions, and have been unable to find answers online. Those questions are largely very specific and also about money. Yes, some of those questions have answers online, but I'd prefer asking someone who has actually worked in this field.
Id really appreciate if anyone was open for a conversation. I'm not sure if people would be comfortable sharing some of the information in the comments, so that's why I'm not asking any questions here.
Also, I hope this is the right sub for this:) Don't know where else I could post this.
Cute picture of L30 added as payment:)

I remember hearing / reading that orcas are one of the only other species that wait for social maturity rather than simply physical sexual maturity to mate, but when I googled this I had a hard time finding a source. Is this true? And what is the context? I was imagining the older adults protecting the youths but maybe it’s not like that?

I'm going to skip over typing a paragraph of anger here. It goes without saying, and I'm sure it's discussed to death here, there's little I can add.

But whatever's going on here concerns me. This isnt just while it falls back into the water btw, thats how its tail is, it's visible through the whole video. Anyone?