Orcas
Latest about Orcas
![An orca attacks a whale, which is gushing blood from its mouth.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9mnjqLQRhh4X6ZQdXTqiWA-320-80.jpg)
Orcas are learning terrifying new behaviors. Are they getting smarter?
By Sascha Pare published
From sinking boats and feasting on shark livers to dining on whale tongue and tossing porpoises around for fun, orcas are displaying some fascinating — and sometimes terrifying — behaviors.
![A killer whale hunting alongside a whaling boat in the early 20th century.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hgqiAea73xyUNSuyHo4QXg-320-80.jpg)
Orcas that hunted alongside humans might be extinct
By Patrick Pester published
Researchers used DNA analysis and traditional knowledge to learn about an orca named Old Tom and his family's remarkable relationship with humans.
![An orca playing with a porpoise and balancing it on its head.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/QhmgJ9kUv7spkvfCe2q3gi-320-80.jpeg)
Orcas are harassing and playing with baby porpoises in deadly game that has lasted 60 years
By Sascha Pare published
Scientists may have finally figured out why a population of orcas in the Salish Sea have been tossing porpoises around and taking them into their mouths without eating them.
![Stranded killer whale laying on the beach opposite 6 otters that were found inside its stomach](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/fDrgRy4sFJVY7RgkSksCti-320-80.jpg)
Scientists investigate mysterious case of orca that swallowed 7 sea otters whole
By Elise Poore published
The female orca was found far from her normal hunting ground with six whole sea otters in its stomach and one lodged between its oral cavity and the esophagus.
![A mother orca and her calf swim near a boat and the coast in northern Norway.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qVz66sgqMPHvKxs2vE5GPj-320-80.jpg)
Opportunistic orcas have developed a new feeding behavior that appears to be killing them
By Sascha Pare published
More orcas have died entangled in fishing gear in Alaska this year than in previous years, which may be linked to a "new behavior" where they feed in front of ascending fishing nets.
![Lolita performs at the Miami Seaquarium.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/iw4H5A9J5U6sFsCMnFQCth-320-80.jpg)
Lolita, the 2nd-oldest orca in captivity, who was set to be released to the wild, has died
By Harry Baker last updated
Lolita, also known as Tokitae, died before she could be returned to her native waters in the Pacific Northwest.
![an orca biting the underside of a whale shark underwater](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Rs5HyPJqNhTGKp8VabBMhD-320-80.jpg)
Watch orca tear open whale shark and feast on its liver in extremely rare footage
By Hannah Osborne published
The orca "slurped in the liver and then the whale shark just fell and descended down, with no movement," James Moskito of Ocean Safaris told Live Science.
![an orca facing the camera as it leaps from the water with water splashing against a blue sky](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VM5NGVvHJCjEjiYRMJ5viX-320-80.jpg)
'An enormous mass of flesh armed with teeth': How orcas gained their 'killer' reputation
By Hanne Strager published
From Pliny the Elder to the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus, historians and naturalists have found many ways to describe these fascinating apex predators.
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