are orcas whales or porpoises?
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People use the terms dolphins, porpoises, and whales to describe marine mammals belonging to the order Cetacea (from the Greek work ketos, “large sea creature”), and often use them interchangeably. The orca, or killer whale, for example, is actually the largest member of the dolphin family.
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Orcas' brains are 2 1/2 times average -- similar to those of chimpanzees. But scientist think that looking just at the brain-body ratio seriously underestimates the thinking power of larger marine mammals. In other words, orcas might be even much smarter than the size of their big brain suggests.
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There are currently 59 orcas in captivity at sea parks and aquariums throughout the world. Some are wild-caught; some were born in captivity. A third of the world's captive orcas are in the United States, and all but one of those live at SeaWorld's three parks in Orlando, San Diego, and San Antonio.
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There are two types of whales: toothed and baleen. Toothed whales, as the name suggests, have teeth, which are used to hunt and eat squid, fish, and seals. Toothed whales include sperm whales, as well as dolphins, porpoises, and orcas, among others.
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Experts on marine mammals say that dolphins - including "killer whales," which are more properly called orcas - rank among the most intelligent species on the planet. ... Dolphins have so much brain power that they're thought to rival humans in intelligence.
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Dolphins and whales are closely related. Orcas were given the name 'killer whale' by ancient sailors' observations of groups of orcas hunting and preying on larger whale species. They called orcas asesina ballenas, or 'whale killer' – a term that was eventually flipped around to the easier 'killer whale'.
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Whales are more closely related to humans than to fish She serves as the executive director of the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation. Whales are a member of the cetacean family, and as such, despite being wholly water-resident, whales are mammals, not fish.
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Like every mammal, dolphins are warm blooded. ... Whales and porpoises are also mammals. There are 75 species of dolphins, whales, and porpoises living in the ocean. They are the only mammals, other than manatees, that spend their entire lives in the water.
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Vaquitas are the smallest porpoise and among the smallest cetaceans. The area of highest remaining numbers is centered at Rocas Consag, some 40 km northeast of the town of San Felipe, Baja California. Genetic and morphological data suggest that vaquitas are most closely related to porpoises in South America.
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Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas ) are toothed whales (Suborder Odontoceti). They are one of 76 cetacean species, and are marine mammals. An unlabeled print-out of a beluga whale.
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Like sharks, orcas have a varied carnivorous diet. They primarily target fish and marine mammals, but orcas will eat almost any animal they can get their jaws around: including seabirds. An orca was even once recorded preying on a moose.
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All pinnipeds — phocids (true seals), otariids (eared seals) and odobenids (walruses) — are in different families in the suborder Caniformia (doglike carnivores) and are related to dogs, coyotes, foxes, wolves, skunks, otters and bears.
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Classification/taxonomy. All pinnipeds — phocids (true seals), otariids (eared seals) and odobenids (walruses) — are in different families in the suborder Caniformia (doglike carnivores) and are related to dogs, coyotes, foxes, wolves, skunks, otters and bears.
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The Vancouver Aquarium was the first aquarium in the world to capture and display an orca. Other whales and dolphins on display included belugas, narwhals and dolphins. ... She was the first beluga to be both conceived and born in a Canadian aquarium.
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Humpback whales can be distinguished by their small dorsal fin and long pectoral flippers, and they show their tail flukes more often. Blue whales are the biggest. They are actually grey, but appear aqua under water. Seeing one is considered to be a very special occasion.
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Orcas are highly intelligent, social mammals. Largest of the dolphins, the orca, is a highly successful predator, feeding on fish, seals, and sometimes whales.
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Whales and porpoises are also mammals. There are 75 species of dolphins, whales, and porpoises living in the ocean. They are the only mammals, other than manatees, that spend their entire lives in the water.