![]() The diet of killer whales in Hawaiian waters includes dolphins.Īt SeaWorld parks, adult killer whales eat approximately 1% to 3.5% of their body weight in food per day. In the North Atlantic, type 1 killer whales hunt schooling fishes such as these herring. Although rarely seen, killer whales in Hawaiian waters seem to have a more varied diet including humpback whales, dolphins, octopuses and squids.Type 2 killer whales specialize in cetacean prey including dolphins, porpoises, and baleen whales such as minke whales. In the North Atlantic, the type 1 killer whales consume a varied diet that includes seals and small, schooling fishes such as herring and mackerel.The diet of offshore killer whales in the northeastern Pacific include fishes such as salmon ( Oncorhynchus spp.), sculpin ( Cottus spp.), Pacific halibut ( Hippoglossus stenolepis), and Pacific sleeper sharks ( Somniosus pacificus).Such extremely different feeding habits, which is not known to occur in any other sympatric mammal species, has also resulted in significant differences in vocalizations, echolocation, group size and behavior between the two ecotypes.Researchers theorize that the divergent, specialized feeding habits of resident and transient killer whales help prevent these two groups of whales from competing with each other for food.The transient ecotype in the eastern North Pacific hunt marine mammals including sea otters. They primarily eat marine mammals including seals, sea lions, walruses, baleen whales, other toothed whales, and occasionally sea otters. Transient whales spend about 90% of daylight hours foraging.The eastern North Pacific resident killer whales prefer Chinook salmon. There is no evidence of resident killer whales eating marine mammals. To a much lesser degree, residents are also known to eat one species of squid ( Gonatopsis borealis) and 22 other species of fish including rockfish ( Sebastes spp.), Pacific halibut ( Hippoglossus stenolepis) and Pacific herring ( Clupea pallasi). Their diet is highly specialized and this dependence may be a limiting factor for this population. Salmon make up 96% of their diet Chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) is the preferred species. Resident whales spend about 60% to 65% of daylight hours foraging for fishes.The feeding habits of resident and transient whales of the eastern North Pacific Ocean differ.Little is known about the diet of type D killer whales, however, they have been observed preying on Patagonian toothfish ( Dissostichus eleginoides) caught on longlines.Type C killer whales mostly eat Antarctic toothfish ( Dissostichus mawsoni). Small type B killer whales have been observed hunting penguins and are believed to mainly eat fishes.Large type B whales eat mainly seals, especially Weddell seals, and also hunt minke whales.Minke whales are hunted by the North Atlantic type 2 killer whales in the northern hemisphereĪnd by the Antarctic type A and large type B ecotypes in the southern hemisphere. Type A whales eat mostly Antarctic minke whales and have also been observed hunting southern elephant seals. The five forms of Antarctic killer whales differ in their diet:.Killer whales have also been reported to eat many other types of animals including leatherback sea turtles, dugongs, moose, and penguins and other seabirds.Īntarctic small type B killer whales have been observed hunting penguins like these Adélies.Īntarctic type A killer whales have been observed hunting southern elephant seals.Įach killer whale ecotype has a fairly specific diet. Worldwide, killer whales have been observed preying on more than 140 species of animals, including many species of bony fish, sharks and rays, and 50 different species of marine mammals. In many parts of the world, killer whales prey on fishes or marine mammals, but not both. Yet, individual ecotypes or populations are often extremely specialized. Globally, killer whales appear to have an extremely diverse diet. Killer whales are the largest predator of warm-blooded animals alive today. Killer whales are top-level predators in the ocean. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |