Black whales are highly socialized animals, and some group families are the most stable families in the animal kingdom. Some complex social behaviors, hunting skills and voice communication of killer whales are considered as evidence that killer whales have their own culture. It is distributed in almost all marine areas, from equator to polar waters. The water temperature or depth does not limit its range. Distribution extends to many closed or semi-closed sea areas, such as gulf of alaska, Mediterranean Sea, Sea of Okhotsk, Gulf of California, Gulf of Mexico, Red Sea and Persian Gulf.
morphological character
The record of adult male killer whales is 9.75 meters in length and 9524 kilograms in weight. It is the biggest one in the dolphin family. There are obvious sexual dimorphism in body shape, fin limb size and dorsal fin height. The maximum length of women is 7.70 meters, and that of men is 9 meters. The dorsal fin of the male adult is upright, and the height can reach 1.0- 1.8 meters, while the dorsal fin of the female is obviously sickle-shaped and the height is less than 0.7 meters. The head is slightly round and the beak is not obvious. The elliptic flippers are located at the front 1/4 of the total length of the body. The length of male flippers can reach 20% of the whole body length, and that of female flippers can reach 1 1%- 13%. The width of caudate lobe can exceed 65438+ 0/5 of the whole body length. The back of the body is black, with 1 light gray saddle point behind the dorsal fin. The mandible and the ventral surface from the front of the mandible to the urogenital area are white. There are 1 white leaflike points behind the dorsal fin, which extend upward from the urogenital area to the body side. The ventral surface of the tail leaf is white or light gray, and may have black edges. There are 1 white oval spots on both sides of the eyes. Saddle spot is not obvious when young, but more obvious after sexual maturity.
The length of the base of adult skull condyle can reach 1000 mm, and the width of the two premolars in front of the orbital fossa is smaller than that of the snout. The wings are far apart. The temporal fossa is very large. The mandible is relatively short. There are 10- 12 teeth in the maxilla and mandible, respectively. The cross section is oval, and the tips of the teeth are inward and backward. In some elderly people, teeth are often damaged by wear or ulcers.
Black whales are huge, spindle-shaped, with a smooth surface and a thick layer of fat under their skin to preserve their body heat. The body length is about 600- 1000 cm and the weight is 5000- 10000 kg. The body color is black and white, the back is painted black, but there is a saddle-shaped gray spot behind the fin, a spindle-shaped white spot behind each eye, and most of the ventral surface is white. The head is round, with no protruding snout, and the nostrils are on the right side of the head, with a flap that can be opened and closed freely. When it floats to the surface of the water, it opens its flaps to breathe, spewing out foam-like aerosol, and when it meets the cold air on the sea surface, it becomes a water column. The forelimbs become a pair of fins, which are very developed, and the hind limbs degenerate and disappear. Powerful triangular dorsal fin, standing high in the center of the back, is very conspicuous. The male beast can reach 1.5 meters in height, which is both an offensive weapon and a rudder. The mouth is very big, and there are 40-50 large conical teeth on the upper and lower jaws, which can swallow a sea lion whole.
habitat
Killer whales live mainly in polar and temperate waters. Japan's Beihai and Iceland, which are widely distributed all over the world, seem to have no obvious restrictions on factors such as water temperature and water depth. They have a high habitat density in high latitudes, especially in the sea areas with rich prey. Their movement is generally related to tracking prey or increasing predation rate, usually during the spawning season of fish and the production period of seals. In summer, killer whales in the Atlantic mostly live on the edge of ice floes or in waterways with ice floes, and feed on baleen whales, penguins and seals. Where and how far they will migrate is still inconclusive. Some killer whales stay in Antarctic waters all the year round, while killer whales in the Arctic rarely get close to ice floes. According to killer whale researchers in Washington State and British Columbia, there are two kinds of killer whales in the area: the settled type and the transit type, which can be found all year round. Some people have a wide range of activities. According to the results of photo identification in various places, some killer whales range from Alaska in the southern United States to California.
Living habits
swim
Black whales often use their tail fins or pectoral fins to jump, surf, peep or beat the water. In the shallow waters of the bay, it also likes to hook seaweed with the notch on its tail and make a "whirring" sound. Soon, it was covered with translucent seaweed. Black whales can swim at a speed of 55 kilometers per hour and hold their breath for about 17 minutes. When the surrounding air is cool, you can usually see their low altitude and dendritic jets. The water column of killer whales is inclined, thick and short, unlike baleen whales, which are thin and high. Their reactions to ships are varied, which may be indifferent or full of curiosity. Occasionally, the group will run aground, and sometimes the group will be trapped in tidal pools or bays. In Arctic and Antarctic waters, the ice floes produced by the wind are a big problem for killer whales, sometimes forcing them to stay in narrow waters for a long time. [5]
sound
If humpback whales are "singers" among whales and beluga whales are "canaries" in the sea, then killer whales are "masters of language" among whales. It can emit 62 different sounds, which have different meanings. For example, when catching fish, it will make intermittent "sneezing" sounds, just like the sound made by pulling rusty iron doors and windows. Threatened by this sound, fish will become abnormal. Black whales can not only send ultrasonic waves to find fish by echo, but also judge the size and swimming direction of fish by ultrasonic waves. This ability is very important for carnivores living in the ocean. The bottom of the sea is very dark, and it is difficult to see distant prey in this environment.
group
Black whales like to live in groups. There are small groups of 2-3 whales and large groups of 40-50 whales. They always stay quietly on the water for 2-3 hours every day. Because their lungs are filled with enough air, they can float safely on the sea surface, exposing their huge dorsal fins. The pectoral fins between group members often keep in touch, showing intimacy and unity. If one member of the group is injured or unconscious in an accident, other members will come to help and support them with their bodies or heads to keep them floating on the sea, even when sleeping. This is to take care of each other and stay awake to some extent. They travel together, eat food, take the population as the social organization, rest in a huge family, and rely on each other to grow.
Social origin
Killer whales settled in Washington State and British Columbia, their basic social unit is a small matriarchal group, generally consisting of 2 to 9 killer whales with similar blood. This matriarchal group will remain stable for a long time, and all members seem to share the parenting work. Several such groups will form a small group (usually used to describe a group of whales with social ties). A typical small group usually includes adult and underage killer whales and young whales, and most of them are led by the oldest female whale, while the male whales left in the small group are usually descendants of the female whale. Even some male killer whales grow to 9 meters and still live in small groups.
The social form of killer whales is matrilineal, and the choice of mating objects is complicated, which is not determined by the strength of males. For example, whale heads sometimes live to 80 years old, and there are examples of mating in their later years. They usually choose to mate with the older males in whales. The standard scientist who chooses the female whale is not clear, and rarely observes the mating scene. He only knows that there is a mother, but he doesn't know where his father is.
There is no father-son relationship and father-daughter relationship among whales. The male's duty is to go out and look for food, and then guide whales to hunt collectively, with a clear division of labor and no status; The relationship between mother and daughter, mother and child is very stable, and the relationship for a lifetime will generally not be derailed. Orphaned whales are usually caused by injury or getting lost. If the ethnic group is too large, it will "split" and produce new ethnic groups.
search
Sometimes killer whales hunt in packs. They communicate with each other and plan tactics by using ultrasonic waves emitted from the keel (the part of the dolphin family used for echolocation, which concentrates sounds into a beam). They will also work together to concentrate the fish into a big ball, and then take turns to drill in and feed them. When hunting seals, killer whales will observe the cracked ditches leading to the beach before the high tide. At high tide, ditches will be filled with water, and shallow water will be formed on the beach. At this time, killer whales will rush to the beach along the ditch and deliberately run aground to prey on sea dogs or sea lions. Sometimes, a killer whale will show its big dorsal fin to attract the attention of fur seals, and then another killer whale will sneak up and kill fur seals. When the prey escapes, another killer whale will. Similarly, killer whales sometimes float motionless on the sea, belly up, much like a dead body. When squid, seabirds and marine animals approach it, they will suddenly turn over and open their mouths to eat them. Sometimes they stun their prey with their tails, such as sea lions, and then hunt.
The food of black whales includes fish, other whales, pteropods, sea otters, birds, reptiles and cephalopods. Of the 362 killer whale stomachs collected in Antarctica, 2 17 contained fish, 75 contained the remains of minke whales, 35 contained pteropods and 35 contained cephalopods.
Black whales have developed brains and strong bodies. With these advantages, these highly intelligent animals can catch up with and kill many top predators in the ocean. Some members of the killer whale family listed at least nine kinds of shark delicacies on their menus, including great white sharks and mako sharks, which frightened many animals.
Dr. ingrid Huizal, a killer whale expert who has studied killer whale behavior 17 years, said: "The most impressive strategy is to use the split palm in karate." Black whales will use their tails to drive sharks out of the water without even having physical contact with them. With the help of the rising force generated by the tail, they can create a whirlpool and put the shark on the current formed when it moves. Once the prey comes out of the water, the killer whale will turn its body, stick its tail out of the water, and then attack the shark like a split palm in karate.
After the shark is knocked out, the killer whale will catch the shark and turn it over. This is obviously an incredible strategy, which shows that killer whales know their opponents very well. After being quickly turned over, the shark went into paralysis, the so-called "muscle tension stagnation", and was slaughtered by killer whales.
Huizar, from Kaka, Tu Tu, North Island of New Zealand, said: "Black whales don't know the physiological structure of sharks, but the behaviors they show do show that they know the effect of a certain action. You don't have to master the working principle of a car just to drive. What you need to know is how to make the car run. Similarly, killer whales seem to know that once sharks are overturned, they will lose their ability to fight back. What killer whales do is take advantage of their own advantages. " In killer whales, scientists have also observed other attack methods, including "round-up", that is, whales surround a lonely shark and then move forward, or quietly approach from below, and quickly attack the shark's abdomen when the shark is unprepared.
Huizar said: "Usually, killer whales will turn the shark over. At this time, the shark is unable to fight back, and a successful hunting behavior is over. The last thing to do is to enjoy the fruits of their labor. We don't think killer whales will specifically plan to go out and kill sharks. Foraging in the ocean is not an easy task. Once the opportunity arises, they will attack sharks mercilessly. "
distribution range
Distributed in Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Anguilla, Antarctica, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Brazil, british indian ocean territory, Brunei, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Corcos Islands, Colombia, Comoros, Congo. Costa Rica, C? te d 'Ivoire, Cuba, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Ecuador (Cologne Islands), El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Falkland Islands (Malvinas Islands), Faroe Islands, Fiji, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guinea, Guam. Hede Island and McDonnell Islands, Honduras, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kiribati, Liberia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia and Nauru. New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Pitcairn, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russian Federation, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, United Republic of Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States (Aleutian Islands, Hawaii), Uruguay and Vanuatu.
Breeding mode
Black whales can mate all year round. Females give birth every 3-5 years. The gestation period is 1 year, and each fetus gives birth to 1 offspring. The lactation period also needs about 1 year, and the life span is about 20-5 years. During the period of 1-2 years after birth, when the larvae are hungry or call for females, they can only make a hoarse voice. Later, with the growth of age, they gradually imitated the voices of adults and improved and enriched their calls. However, because the language of killer whales is complex and changeable, it takes at least five years for young whales to fully master the "language" of adults.
Black whales are polygamous. In the Pacific Northwest, most of them mate between May and July. In the northeast Pacific, they mostly give birth between June 10 and March of the following year. Male sexual maturity is 5.2-6.2 meters long and female sexual maturity is 4.6-5.4 meters long. The female gave birth to the first viable calf at 1 1- 16. The smallest newborn calf recorded in the North Pacific is 2.28 meters long. The birth interval is about 5 years. Females stop bearing at the age of 40, and the average growth period thereafter is about 10 years, which can be extended to more than 30 years. The average life expectancy is estimated at 80-90 years. Males reach sexual maturity at the age of 15, with an average life span of 29 years and a maximum life span of 50-60 years. [
Subspecies differentiation editing
American researchers recently reported in the journal Genome Research that they found at least three new killer whale species after sequencing the DNA of killer whale mitochondria, which also shows that there is more than one killer whale species in the global ocean.
In the new study, the researchers sequenced the mitochondrial DNA of 139 killer whale by "highly parallel sequencing technology". These killer whales come from the waters near the North Atlantic, the North Pacific and the Antarctic continent. The researchers finally found that two kinds of killer whales living in Antarctic waters, mainly feeding on fish and seals, may belong to new species. In addition, there are new killer whale populations in the North Pacific.
Philip Moline, a geneticist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who led the research, said that like other whales, the mitochondria in killer whales rarely change over time, so it is difficult to find a newly evolved killer whale species without looking at the whole genome. However, the genome sequencing of killer whale mitochondria can be completed by measuring killer whale tissue samples around the world, thus distinguishing new species.
Demographic situation
Historically, killer whales were directly killed in Japan, Norway and the former Soviet Union. There is no fishing ground for killing killer whales directly. The rise of killer whale performances in aquariums in the 1960s promoted the rapid development of on-site killer whale fishing. With the development of killer whale breeding technology, the demand for live capture has declined. Oil spill and pollution of other toxic substances at sea pose some threats to the health of killer whales, and the interference of sea traffic on killer whales' prey is a potential impact. There are an estimated 70,000 killer whales in Antarctica, and there are only a few sporadic surveys on the number of killer whales in other waters.
Black whales are not in danger of extinction, but human hunting may lead to a decrease in the number of races in some areas. There are only a few hundred killer whales in Washington State and British Columbia, whether settled or in transit, and they are all threatened by pollution, the reduction of heavy ships and prey. Intensive whale watching activities may interfere with the life of killer whales, and those in order to protect salmon farms from threats such as fin-foot drive and prey reduction. Intensive whale watching activities may invade human beings and drive killer whales out of their original habitat. It is estimated that there are about 8,500 killer whales in the tropical waters of the East Pacific, at least 850 in Alaska waters and more than 2,000 off the coast of Japan. In summer, there are about 8,000 killer whales in Antarctic waters, and there may be hundreds to thousands in other areas within the distribution range. At present, whalers in Japan, Indonesia, Greenland and the West Indies continue to kill killer whales. Although the amount of killing is small, it may have a considerable impact on the local community.
Protection level
Listed in the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species) 20 13 ver 3. 1- Lack of data (DD).
Feeding and domestication
Black whales can be domesticated in aquariums. They are clever and obedient. They can also learn many skills and perform various programs. The most wonderful program is "welcome": with the bell, they will put their huge heads out of the water and swim slowly to the audience to show "welcome", or let the breeder ride around on his back, or even let the breeder put his head in his huge mouth; "Jump into the water to swallow fish": breaking the surface, with his mouth open, jumped to a height of more than 5 meters and swallowed a big fish hanging there; "Jump in the fast swimming": Swim quickly along the edge of the pool, break the waves and sometimes jump out of the water; "Come as soon as you can": Swim over immediately when you hear the call signal; "Cats catch mice": killer whales have their bellies up and their pectoral fins out of the water. The animal trainer sat on his chest, holding his teeth in one hand, and then swam with the killer whale several times and jumped into the water. At this time, the killer whale caught up from behind and carried him on his back again, repeating this action many times. In fact, killer whales have become so docile because people have mastered one of its weaknesses: once they leave their own kind and live alone, their courage becomes very small. Of course, after the wonderful performance, delicious dishes such as salmon and tuna are also essential as rewards.
Killer whales are domesticated to accomplish some special tasks because of their outstanding intelligence. For example, the U.S. Navy's underwater combat center in Hawaii spends millions of dollars every year to train an animal unit. Killer whales are one of the main members, and they can do deep diving, navigation, demining and other work. People also train killer whales to salvage relics at the bottom of the sea, play the sound of killer whales to scare away harmful animals in the sea, or treat them as police dogs in the sea to care for and manage farmed fish.