- Up and Over Orcas -

Copyright 2000     Royce McClure

Despite having 'whale' as part of their name killer whales and pilot whales are really dolphins. They are the largest of the dolphins, but have a blunt head rather than a beak and have fewer teeth. It is normally difficult to tell the sex difference between dolphins except for the orca. When the male is fully grown he has a magnificent dorsal fin that is almost symmetrical and rises upright five feet from his back. The female's dorsal fin is much smaller and is curved. No one is sure why orcas leap from the water (called breaching). Many biologists believe that breaching is a way of them demonstrating their strength and stamina to prospective mates, who may be able to judge the energy of a breach from the sound and frequency of the splashes. Alternative explanations abound, from stunning schools of fish, to it just being their sense of play. Most dolphins can rapidly scull their tail to raise its upper body from the water, a practise called tailstanding. Whales and orcas are too heavy to do this, but many species will stick their heads out of the water for a look around, a behaviour known as spy-hopping. In this painting we see an example of both breaching and spy-hopping. Available as a t-shirt