#Orcinus orca

[dimetrodone]

Antarctic Orcas

[namu-the-orca]

What color are orcas' eyes?

In short, mostly brown. In long, it's a bit complicated as Killer whales (and for that matter, all cetaceans) have multi coloured eyes! Unlike us humans, who have a singular coloured iris and a white sclera, cetacean eyes come in more flavours. Their iris is circled by a pale ring of varying colour, and the surrounding sclera is more often than not coloured too, sometimes even bi-colored. I have actually been working on a cetacean eye-colour-chart thing so I have some neat illustrations ready.

Here you can see the components that make up a cetacean's eye. It should be noted though that when relaxed, the eyelids cover much of it, leaving almost only the iris visible. As an example: a Harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). On the left a clear view of the eye in its totality; on the right as visible in life.

Onto the whale in question. All cetaceans have beautiful brown irises: in many it is an unbelievably rich reddish hue when sunlight hits it directly. In shadow or underwater it looks more subdued though. Then comes the pale ring which in Killer whales is quite variable: in some animals it is very pale, almost white, while others have beautiful bright blue rings. The sclera appears two-toned in blackfish as far as I've seen. Killer whales have a rather modest dark brown area of sclera around the iris-pale-ring-combo, with the surrounding "base" sclera reddish pink. For comparison, False killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) have a bit more substantive dark brown sclera area, with the surrounding sclera a striking bright red.

I hope this answers your question! This makes me want to finish this chart haha so maybe that'll come soon-ish in its totality.

[snototter]

An orca (Orcinus orca) spyhopping in Resurrection Bay, Alaska

by Gregory "Slobirdr" Smith

[sugargrim3]

Night sky & dreams galore

[inatungulates]

Bigg's killer whale Orcinus orca

Observed by marciecjohn, CC BY-NC

[dduane]

Now I'm starting to wonder what small vessel(s) might have injured an orca in those waters around, oh, late last year or so...

Bearing in mind what we already know about the intelligence and (possible) linguistic abilities of cetaceans in general—and bearing in mind the way orcas will get together in pairs or groups to attack sharks—it wouldn't surprise me in the least if "word" had somehow started to get around...

[fyanimaldiversity]

have you seen any of the grey transient killer whales off the west coast of north america? they’re beautiful! researchers aren’t exactly sure what causes the coloration. it’s hypothesized that chediak-higashi syndrome may be to blame, as it was documented in a captive individual from a related population. beautiful animals though, so far, none of the wild grey calves have survived to adulthood

Sorry for the late response, but wow! Absolutely stunning, I love faded black animals, they look like went through the wash too many times. So sad they have health issues!

[lazer-t]

Orca for a $5 Ko-fi supporter

[havingawhaleovatime]

Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) ; B.C. Cetacean Sighting Network Sourced 4m Here

[beandrawings]

In loving memory of Tokitae ❤️

[kingdimitrx]

I’ll be a killer whale when I grow up…

Orca mermaids! Closeups under cut.

[argumntativantitheticldreamgirl]

That one time seeing orcas in the wild in the Galápagos…

[cosmosinmycoffee]

This is your invitation (not an obligation though) to spill some orca facts if you feel like it (saw the tags on that orca video) 🐋

I fuckin SCREAMED when I read this, I'm literally foaming at the mouth with joy. Any excuse I have to give people fun facts I will happily take! I could talk about Killer whales for literal hours so I'll keep this short!

Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) can reach an average of 23-27 feet and can weigh as much as 13,300 pounds! These guys are massive!

And contrary to popular belief you can call them Killer whales! For one, they truly are vicious hunters so its a well founded name. Secondly, That's just what their common name is and the term "Orca" is more of a slang on their scientific name. It would be like Calling a Brown Bear "Arctos" (their species) instead of just "Brown Bear".

Currently there are 10 known ecotypes of Killer whale across the world, and while they're not different species (YET) they really should be! They all have different dialects, prey preference, behavior, etc. and they don't interbreed between types!

(just 3 of the 5 types in the Northern Hemisphere. All shown live in the North Pacific)

My personal favorite is the Offshore Killer Whale because they are just the most Bad-Ass ecotype in the Pacific! These guys form groups of 20+ individuals and tend to eat fish, but what really sets them apart is that they eat SHARKS TOO! But not the entire shark! These guys are picky and tend to only eat the fins and the liver, they then leave the rest of the body for whatever swims by.

(Killer whale with a FUCKIN GREAT WHITE IN ITS MOUTH)

And because shark skin is so rough (and is literally made of the same things your teeth are made of) this tends to wear on the teeth of these whales and make it harder and harder to hunt as time goes on. Because of this they tend to have a shorter lifespan than the Resident or the Transient types.

These are just a few little fun facts to impress your friends and family, but if you want more facts on any thing (general info, specific ecotypes, Identification, etc.) PLEASE let me know and it'll make my day.

[snototter]

An orca (Orcinus orca) surfaces for air off the coast of Iceland

by Gail Hampshire

[sugargrim3]

Whales during class

[inatungulates]

Killer whale Orcinus orca

Observed by mickeydylan, CC BY-NC