Greetings Fellow Orca Questers!

As I define this page to enable coloring books for children who are enamoured of the killer whale (also linked in Kid's Pod), I will also be offering my current interpretations and conclusions based on my studies of the past 15 years, as well as scientific papers (with attribution). As with all the other pages beyond the new template, it is I alone who do this work. Thus, I ask your patience as I learn about webpages and interactive components! If you are adept in desktop publishing and would like to volunteer some time, please e-mail us! Thank you for your understanding.

Killer whales (Orcinus orca), or orca, are the top predator in the world's oceans. As such, they represent the Primary Indicator Species relative to the overall health of the oceanic eco-systems.

Killer whales are found in all the oceans of the world. The greatest concentration exists in the Pacific Northwest waters with a combined population of over 300 between the Southern and Northern Resident populations, respectively. This number does not include the Transient or Offshore spp. which sympatrically share these waters with the residents.

There are three (3) sub-species (or eco-types as some prefer), of killer whales: Residents (predominantly fish eating), Transients (predominant predation on other marine mammal spp.), and Offshores. While little is known about the Offshore population, my observations during the 2002 field season indicated this population was fish eating (salmonids), with no knowledge of other predation species. It is reasonable to presume, however, that offshores prey on a greater diet of marine species given their typical known range, approximately 40 miles off the western side of Vancouver Island, Canada.

A fourth sub-species has been identified in the Antactic, with three (3) types within the fourth sub-species (Pittman and Ensor 2003). These killer whales possess more distinct pigmentation differnces than those normally seen, including a "cape" above the eyepatch (Id at 132). Pittman and Ensor note that these killer whales are larger than those typically seen in global waters. This research has identified this sub-species as Orcinus glacialis, though this label has yet to be accepted throughout the scientific community pursuing research on orca.

Killer whales are of the family Delphinidae (dolphins). They are the largest dolphin and exemplify the traits and characteristics which humans have become familiar with, including the "disarming smile" of the dolphin, or other emotional responses.