Killer Whales: Marine Hunting Machines

Editor's Note: The following blog was originally posted by SKELETONS: Museum of Osteology on July 14, 2023.

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Killer whales, also known as orcas, are highly intelligent marine mammals that use echolocation as a crucial tool for locating and capturing their food. Echolocation is a sensory system that involves emitting sounds and interpreting the echoes that bounce back from objects in the environment. This allows killer whales to create a detailed “sound picture” of their surroundings, helping them navigate, communicate, and hunt.

Here’s how killer whales use echolocation to find their food:

Emitting Clicks: Killer whales produce a series of clicks or vocalizations called a click train. They generate these clicks using specialized air sacs located near their blowhole. The clicks are then focused through a fatty structure on the whale’s forehead, which acts as an acoustic lens.

Echo Reception: When the clicks encounter an object, such as prey or other physical structures, they bounce back as echoes. The killer whale’s lower jaw and surrounding tissues act as an acoustic receiver, capturing these echoes.

Analyzing Echoes: The returning echoes contain valuable information about the location, distance, shape, size, and movement of the objects in the environment. Killer whales have specialized structures in their inner ears that process these echoes and transmit the information to their brains.

Interpreting the Sound Picture: Killer whales possess a highly developed auditory system and a large portion of their brain is dedicated to processing acoustic information. They can interpret the time delay, intensity, and frequency characteristics of the echoes to construct a detailed mental image of their surroundings.

Hunting Strategy: Once killer whales have detected potential prey using echolocation, they use their coordinated hunting techniques to capture it. They generally work together in a group, called a pod, to encircle their prey or use maneuvers to corral them into more vulnerable positions.

By utilizing echolocation, killer whales can navigate in dark or murky waters, identify prey hiding in complex underwater environments, and locate prey at long distances. This sensory ability allows them to hunt successfully even in challenging conditions and ensures their survival as efficient and skilled predators.

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