A marine biologist explores the radically different types of killer whales and their unique genetics, hunting strategies, and cultures.

00:00 – Are There Different Types of Orcas?
01:23 – Orcas of the Pacific Northwest
04:33 – Killer Whales in the Southern Ocean
07:57 – New Species of Orca?
09:23 – Killer Whale Vs Great White Shark
10:10 – North Atlantic Killer Whales
13:23 – What is a Species?

Long believed to be one species, Orcinus orca, there are at least 10 officially recognized variations known as ecotypes. Some argue that there could be as many as 20 orca ecotypes, each with unique genetics, appearances, and behaviors. Ecotypes are broadly defined as a population of a species that survives as a distinct group through environmental selection and isolation.

Why should we classify orcas into different ecotypes if not different species? Because if we treat them as one global species, then they are data deficient with no obvious threat. But if we look at them individually, a much clearer picture comes into focus. Some ecotypes, like the Bigg’s killer whales and the Gerlache killer whales are doing great and their populations are healthy and stable if not growing. Others are struggling for very specific reasons. The pack ice killer whales are in decline because of habitat loss thanks to global warming. The Gladis orcas are at a higher risk of ship and vessel strikes because of their dangerous interactions with humans. And there is a very real fear that the southern resident killer whales will go extinct within my lifetime because their preferred prey, Chinook salmon, is also critically endangered.

Cited Sources
[1] fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/new-research-reveals-full-diversity-killer-whales-two-species-come-view-pacific-coast
[2] pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4237148/
[3] nbcnews.com/sciencemain/killer-whales-go-silent-stealth-mode-stalk-mammals-2d11690928
[4] royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.231368
[5] whalescientists.com/type-b-killer-whales/
[6] sci.news/biology/article01172-dna-type-d-killer-whale.html
[7] pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36971118/
[8] orcaireland.org/type-d-killer-whales-are-the-most-inbred-mammals-ever-documented
[9] repository.up.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/02d1823e-5d6c-434d-a3d1-e058b508a4df/content
[10]
abc.net.au/news/2021-08-22/killer-whales-remain-a-mystery-in-australian-waters/100353976
[11] pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20050301/
[12] whalescientists.com/north-atlantic-killer-whales/
[13]
[14] baleinesendirect.org/en/les-epaulards-de-lest-canadien-les-grands-meconnus-de-latlantique/
[15] cbc.ca/player/play/video/1.6977469
[16] media.fisheries.noaa.gov/2021-07/f2020_AtlGmexSARs_GmexKiller.pdf?null
[17] science.org/doi/10.1126/science.273.5281.1501
[18] nature.com/articles/s43247-024-01327-5
[20] [21] alaskapublic.org/news/2018-02-03/endangered-orcas-are-starving-should-we-start-feeding-them

J50 Feeding Trials
NOAA Fisheries, filmed under NMFS research permit 18786

Type D Killer Whale Research Team 2019
Taken under Chilean Sub-Secretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture Research Permit, Res. Ex. 1811 (31 May 2017) and Res. Ex. 4402 (18 December 2018)

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