Editing Orca (section)

{{Short description|Largest living species of dolphin}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Killer Whale|''The Avengers'' episode|Killer Whale (The Avengers){{!}}Killer Whale (''The Avengers'')|1962 tokusatsu film|The Whale God{{!}}''The Whale God (Killer Whale)''}}
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{{Use Canadian English|date=April 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Speciesbox
| fossil_range      = [[Pliocene]] to recent{{fossil range|Late Miocene|Recent|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=64541|title=''Orcinus orca'' Linnaeus 1758|work=Fossilworks|access-date=17 December 2021|archive-date=December 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212184046/http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=64541|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}
| name              = Orca<br />Killer whale<ref name=MSW3>{{MSW3 Cetacea|id=14300074}}</ref>
| image             = Killerwhales jumping.jpg
| image_alt         = Two killer whales jump above the sea surface, showing their black, white and grey colouration. The closer whale is upright and viewed from the side, while the other whale is arching backward to display its underside.
| image_caption     = {{longitem|Transient orcas near [[Unimak Island]], eastern [[Aleutian Islands]], [[Alaska]]}}
| image2            = Female orca scale.png
| image2_alt        = Diagram showing a 5.4 meter (18 foot) female killer whale compared to a 1.8 meter (5 foot 11 inches) human scuba diver.
| image2_caption    = {{longitem|5.4 meter (18 foot) female killer whale compared to 1.8 meter (5 foot 11 inches) human scuba diver}}
| status            = DD
| status_system     = IUCN3.1
| status_ref        = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Reeves|first1= R. |author2=Pitman|first2= R. L.|author3=Ford|first3=J. K. B. |date=2017 |title=''Orcinus orca'' |volume=2017 |page=e.T15421A50368125 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T15421A50368125.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| status2           = CITES_A2
| status2_system    = CITES
| status2_ref       = <ref name = "CITES">{{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org|archive-date=December 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205014647/https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|url-status=live}}</ref>
| genus             = Orcinus
| species           = orca
| authority         = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])<ref>{{ITIS |id=180469 |taxon=''Orcinus orca'' (Linnaeus, 1758) |access-date=March 9, 2011}}</ref>
| synonyms          = *''Delphinus orca'' {{small|Linnaeus,&nbsp;1758}}
*''Delphinus gladiator'' {{small|Bonnaterre,&nbsp;1789}}
*''Orca gladiator'' {{small|(Bonnaterre,&nbsp;1789)}}
| range_map         = Orca_range.svg
| range_map_alt     = A world map shows killer whales are found throughout every ocean, except parts of the Arctic. They are also absent from the Black and Baltic seas.
| range_map_caption = {{legend2|#0577AF|''Orcinus orca'' [[Cosmopolitan distribution|range]]|outline=gray}}
}}
The '''orca''' ('''''Orcinus orca'''''), or '''killer whale''', is a [[toothed whale]] and the largest member of the [[oceanic dolphin]] family. The only [[Extant taxon|extant]] species in the genus ''[[Orcinus]]'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white patterned body. A [[cosmopolitan species]], it inhabits a wide range of marine environments, from [[Arctic Ocean|Arctic]] to [[Southern Ocean|Antarctic regions]] to tropical seas.

Orcas are [[apex predator]]s with a diverse diet. Individual populations often specialize in particular types of prey, including [[fish]], [[shark]]s, [[Batoids|rays]], and [[marine mammal]]s such as [[Pinniped|seals]], [[Cetacea|dolphins, and whales]]. They are highly [[Social animal|social]], with some populations forming stable [[matrilineal]] family groups (pods). Their sophisticated hunting techniques and vocal behaviors, often unique to specific groups and passed down through generation to generation, are considered to be manifestations of [[animal culture]].

The [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN) lists the orca's [[conservation status]] as [[data deficient]] as multiple orca types may represent [[Species problem|distinct species]]. Some local populations are [[Threatened species|threatened]] or [[Endangered species|endangered]] due to prey depletion, [[habitat loss]], pollution (by [[Polychlorinated biphenyl|PCBs]]), captures for [[marine mammal park|marine park]]s, and [[Commercial fishing#Environmental Risk|conflicts with fisheries]]. In late 2005, the [[southern resident killer whale|southern resident orca]]s were added on the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service list of endangered species of mammals and birds|U.S. Endangered Species list]].

Orcas rarely pose a threat to humans, and no fatal attack has been recorded in the wild. However, [[Orca attacks#Captive orca attacks|captive orcas have injured or killed their handlers]] in marine theme parks.