Common misconception
Orcas are not "whales". They are called "killer whales" because they kill whales.
That is all.
I looked that up, but haven't found anything supporting that claim.
Do you have any proof?
It makes sense that they are called killer whales because they kill whales. I know from an evolutionary stand point, they are very similar to dolphins
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They are dolphins, though alone in their genus. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whale
Even if the source of the name "killer whale" is indeed what slippery described, that isn't really accurate anymore either, since not all orcas regularly feed on other whales. Might as well try to get the world's population to stop calling American bison "buffalo."
Orcas are neither killers nor are they whales. They are the largest members of the dolphin family.
shareInteresting because there are several different types of orcas, but all considered to be the same species currently. Should prove interesting if somebody can show enough differences between these types to reclassify them into different species.
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