Why are they called killer whales?
Orcas are highly efficient ocean predators–top of the food chain. Some cooperate when hunting, just like wolves. The fact that most killer whales feed on other marine mammals, including the large baleen whales, have earned them their common name. Pacific Northwest resident pods of killer whales, however, rely primarily upon the once-abundant salmon runs for food.
A healthy adult killer whale is an apex (top) predator in the ocean; it can prey on anything that lives in the sea, but has no predators of its own. Some killer whales are even known to prey on other species of whales. At one time, people called them “whale killers,” which was eventually modified into killer whales.
