Killer whales, or orcas, are apex saltwater predators, swimming through every ocean and dining on a remarkable variety of prey — even slaughtering great white sharks for their livers and killing blue whales. At Live Science, you can learn all about these phenomenal mammals, including why orca males are burnouts and the reason killer whales get sick in captivity. Marvel at extremely rare white killer whales and other exciting sightings with the latest orca news, features and articles from our expert writers and editors.
Discover more about orcas
—Orcas: Facts about killer whales
—Orcas have sunk 3 boats in Europe and appear to be teaching others to do the same. But why?
Latest about Orcas
Wild orcas offer humans food. Could they be trying to make friends — or manipulate us?
Researchers have documented orcas dropping prey and other marine life in front of humans, as if offering us food. The orcas' motives are uncertain, but the sharing behavior could be an attempt at a cross-species relationship or manipulation.
Still frame from video footage recorded in the Kvænangen fjords, Norway, in 2024, showing the tongue-nibbling interaction between two free-ranging killer whales.
Footage captures a pair of orcas nibbling each other's tongues in the Kvænangen fjords in northern Norway. Scientists think this rarely seen behavior could play a role in social bonding.
Salmon-hat wearing orcas also give each other massages with kelp, scientists discover
Orcas have been spotted giving each other rubdowns with kelp tools, rubbing pieces of the seaweed between their bodies.
Living lunch box? Iceland orcas are unexpectedly swimming with baby pilot whales, but it's unclear why.
Newborn pilot whales have been spotted mysteriously swimming among pods of orcas. Scientists are trying to puzzle out how the pilot whale calves got there and what happened to them.
'Incredible and rare' sight as endangered whale attacked by 60 orcas in brutal hunt
A massive gang of over 60 orcas was seen brutalizing an endangered pygmy blue whale off the coast of Western Australia by a whalewatching tour.
Orcas off Antarctica filmed teaching calves to hunt in incredible new footage
The adult orcas swam around the ice demonstrating how to pull a seal off by its tail.
Orcas: Facts about killer whales
Discover interesting facts about orcas, the deadly and beautiful predators that lurk in every ocean.
Grieving orca mom carries dead calf around on her head for a 2nd time
An orca famous for carrying a dead calf around has once again been spotted with a deceased newborn on her head in Puget Sound, but there's some good news for her endangered southern resident killer whale pod.
