[Kathleen1971]

I hope they don't euthanize the Orca. Unfortunately when you play around with wild animals things like these are bound to happen. It is not the animals fault for being an animal. I feel bad for the trainer and her family but she knew going into this job the risk she was taking.

And for the love of God, I wish the newscasters would stop referring to this animal as a whale. Yes they are called Killer Whales but they are not whales. They are dolphins. Sorry but this has been driving me nuts since yesterday.

[wertyuru]

Really sad

I was really shocked when I heard about this

[mango23]

Originally Posted by Kathleen1971

I hope they don't euthanize the Orca. Unfortunately when you play around with wild animals things like these are bound to happen. It is not the animals fault for being an animal. I feel bad for the trainer and her family but she knew going into this job the risk she was taking.

And for the love of God, I wish the newscasters would stop referring to this animal as a whale. Yes they are called Killer Whales but they are not whales. They are dolphins. Sorry but this has been driving me nuts since yesterday.

I am pretty sure they are a whale. I did some looking to see what is correct and found this
Killer Whales

Regardless of any technicalities, and I am not sure there are any, you will not find them referenced anywhere as anything other then Killer Whales. That is the accepted name. Doing some further reading, Dolphins sound like they are a species of whale and the killer whale is only 1 of over 60 species of toothed whales. I think they are all whales.

[JustinsMama]

From Google:

Killer Whale Facts: GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

The orca or killer whale is a toothed whale and is a member of the Dolphin family (it is the largest dolphin). There are 3 distinct species of these warm blooded, air breathing mammals: Resident Killer Whales, Transient Killer whales, and Off-shore Killer Whales. The main factors which set each species apart are - social behavior, physical appearance, preferred food, and vocal dialects. At this stage, there is little known of the Off-Shore species of Killer Whales as they are seldom seen in protected coastal waters. Although the travelling ranges of Residents Killer Whales, Transients Killer Whales, and Off-shores Killer Whales overlap, they have never been seen to mix.

The orca or killer whale is a toothed whale and is a member of the Dolphin family (it is the largest dolphin).

I think I'm even more confused now...

[Kathleen1971]

I don't have a problem with people calling them Killer Whales as that is their title. But techniaclly they are the largest species of dolphins.

Killer whale - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

NPCA | Killer Whale (http://www.npca.org/marine_and_coastal/marine_wildlife/orca.html - broken link)

Killer Whales (Orcas), Killer Whale Pictures, Killer Whale Facts - National Geographic

I know they can be called toothed whales but in the end they are a member of the dolphin family. I suppose it doesn't really matter but the dork in me that wanted to be a marine biologist sometimes gets held up on semantics. Plus at a camp I went to as a child for marine life had an instructor who would go ballistic when Orca was called a whale so I guess that rubbed off on me as well lol.


Whatever we call them they really should be in the open ocean and not performing tricks in a small man made waterspace. JMO.

[Mike1306]

Killer whales are in the family Delphinidae as are all other dolphins.
Dolphins and whales are all in the same order I believe and maybe suborder.

There are one or 2 other whales in the Delphinidae family.

[mango23]

Originally Posted by Mike Peterson

Killer whales are in the family Delphinidae as are all other dolphins.
Dolphins and whales are all in the same order I believe and maybe suborder.

There are one or 2 other whales in the Delphinidae family.

The poster is saying Killer whales are Dolphins, from what I have read Dolphins are themselves whales. My main comment was The poster was so freaked out about them being called Killer whales like the news people are morons or something, when Killer whale is the way they are refereed to be every expert regarding the animals without exception. How can you fault the news people?

[Mike1306]

I wasn't trying to say anyone was right or wrong.

Dolphin and whale are just common names. The classification system is the best way to distinguish them if you really need to but the common name Killer Whale is going to be what most people know them as and I think was the right way for the news person to do so.

If the news person said a Mammalia of the Cetacea order, suborder Odontoceti killed someone then you would have mass bedlam in the streets with people thinking we were being invaded by an alien race.

And no, I did not know the order and suborder without looking them up though I do know delphinus delphis and delphinidae since they are very common around here.

[Kathleen1971]

I did not say I had a problem with them being called Killer Whales. I said I did not like them calling them just whales as if they are the same as a Blue Whale, Beluga Whale, etc. Killer Whales are their names. But their species is Dolphin which the newscasters could mention because if you are reporting the news you should be able to mention some facts.

Whales have baleen to feed whereas dolphins have teeth. Therefore a Killer Whale, since it has teeth, is classified as a dolphin and not a whale. The reason they are called Killer Whales is because they were originally called Killers of Whales or Whale Killers and the names got reversed.

[JustinsMama]

Ain't sad at all....for that human in the belly of the be(a)st that is....

I'll assume your going for sensationalism here, otherwise, you haven't read any of the accounts of the story.

I just can't get with the logic of some of you folks.

Well then, you know what one of your options is...