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Dieren en planten

Seals   Grey seal   Cetaceans   Dolphins   Bottlenose dolphin   White-beaked dolphin   Northern bottlenose whale   Orca   

Orca

size:

up to 10 meters

weight:

up to 10,000 kilograms

color:

black with white

age:

Males up to 40 years, females up to 70 years

food:

seals, cetaceans, large fish, birds such as penguins

enemies:

people, from pollution

  • Dut: Orka (zwaardwalvis)
  • Lat: Orcinus orca
  • Eng: Orca (killer whale)
  • Fren: l'orque (le) (l'orque ou épaulard)
  • Ger: Schwertwal
  • Dan: Spækhugger
  • Nor: Spekkhogger
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Orca (killer whale), Frits-Jan Maas

Orca

Orcas, also called killer whales, are the largest member of the dolphin family. They often hunt in groups, driving a school of fish together and chasing them to the surface. They sometimes patrol along shores, for example when hunting seals. They will even throw themselves onto the shore in order to grab their prey. That is a risky business for orcas: if they beach too far, there is a possibility that they can't get back into the water. You aren't likely to find orcas in the Netherlands. They are very rarely spotted in the Dutch North Sea. However, a young live orca was found on 23 June 2010 in the Wadden Sea. The young female was very weak and brought to the Dofinarium in Hardewijk for care.

  • Spotted in the North Sea
    Orcas, Marijke de Boer
  • Distribution of killer whales
    Distribution of the killer whale, Ecomare

    Orcas are found in all the seas around the world, with a preference for cooler waters. They are very common north of Scotland. They are also regularly spotted in the northern North Sea. If found in the southern North Sea, the animal is off course. This means that they are rarely seen in Dutch waters, which makes the find in the Wadden Sea in 2010 quite spectacular.

  • Stranding on the Dutch coast
    Orca in de Waddenzee (Lauwersoog), RTL Nieuws
    DatePlace and details
    4 December 1783 Domburg, pregnant female
    1811 Engelsmanplaat
    15 April 1832 Ameland (living but killed)
    30 November 1841 Wijk aan Zee, female
    prior to 1887 Katwijk aan Zee
    1895 Den Haag, Wassenaar beach
    7 September 1909 Noordwijk aan Zee, young male
    1918 Egmond aan Zee
    November 1918 Zandvoort
    August 1921 Vlieland
    November 1921 Wieringen, male
    end of April 1926 Lightship Haaks, male
    20 July 1931 Terschelling, male
    5 January 1935 Wissekerke, male
    21 October 1936 Noordwijk aan Zee, female
    10 July 1937 Texel, female
    22 September 1937 Terschelling
    14 October 1937 Ameland
    8 July 1943 Terschelling, female (pregnant)
    20 July 1943 Terschelling
    8 July 1945 Noordwijk aan Zee
    28 December 1947 Schiermonnikoog, aged male
    summer 1958 Terschelling
    15 August 1959 Schiermonnikoog
    20 July 1961 Goeree
    10 October 1963 Texel, male
    18 October 1963 Noordwijk aan Zee
    12 September 2009 Scheveningen, old skull
    23 June 2010 Wadden Sea by Lauwersoog, young female, live
    Source: Kompanje, 1995
  • Swimming toxic containers
    Killer whale, marijke de boer

    In 2005, a study sponsored by World Wild Life showed that all animals in the polar region contain the most toxic materials. Large amounts of CFCs, pesticides and fire resistant materials wre found in their bodies. Because orcas are at the top of the food pyramid, they consume lots of poisons.

  • Orca Morgan

    Orca Morgan was rescued in the Wadden Sea in June 2010. She was emaciated, weak and ended up in this shallow sea separated from her family. After a number of months in Dolfinarium, this young female was on her way to recovering well. However she was not released back to the sea. A team of international orca specialists reviewed Morgan's situation and concluded that returning to the wild was not an option. Morgan had lost her family and without family she probably won't survive. Kees Camphuysen from the Royal Dutch Institute for Sea Research stated: "By returning Morgan to the wild, you are essentially leaving a three-year old toddler behind in the forest and saying that maybe its mother is somewhere in the area.'
    The Dolfinarium has found permanent housing for her in a zoo on Tenerife. Despite strong protests, a court case and many Morgan tweets, the animal was transported there at the end of November.