I always thought Killer Whales were one animal (the black and white whale that Shamu is) and Orca whales were different.
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Orcas are also known as killer whales. Both refer to the same large dolphin species aka “the black and white whale”.
Yes they are.
The systematic Latin name for the ‘killer whale’ is Orcinus orca. ‘Orca’ is generally used by people who want to avoid perpetuating the bad rep these whales have. The recent Sea World incident notwithstanding, wild orcas have not been documented killing any human (so either it hasn’t happened, or the whales are smart enough to do it only when there are no witnesses present!).
There is another species called the ‘false killer whale’ (Pseudorca crassidens) which is slightly smaller than Orcinus orca, and shares some behavioral traits (e.g. preying on smaller dolphin species) but the two species are otherwise not particularly closely related.
they are one in the same. They get the nick name killer whale because they will kill other animals such as seals just for the shear joy of doing it.
Orcas are not whales. They are in fact dolphins.
Yes, killer whale and orca are two different common names for the same animal, the one known scientifically as Orcinus orca. Many animals have more than one common name – Puma concolor is an extreme example, having around 40 common names including puma, cougar, mountain lion, catamount, catamountain and Florida panther. The name “killer whale” is a corruption of “whale killer” – orcas are actually dolphins, not whales, and will prey on whales.
They are both the same…..Orca is the scientific name and Killer Whale because they kill seals before they eat them.