They are the largest member of the dolphin family. The Orca's skin is mostly black with white patches. Orcas have huge bodies and a rounded head with a distinctive beak. They have a tall, sickle-shaped dorsal fin and large, paddle-like flippers. The dorsal fin of the male is taller (up to 6 ft tall) and more upright than that of the female (whose dorsal fin is up to 4 ft tall).
The color varies from a light olive-green to a dark-brown back, silver-yellowish sides and yellow-whitish belly. The color of the fin is considered to have a reddish tone. There are numerous red and dark brown spots scattered on the head, body and gills. The tail is slightly forked in young fish and square in older trout. Depending on the environment, their average weight can range between 2.5 and 10 pounds, with an average length between 14 and 24 inches.
It is imperative that we remember just what SeaWorld continues to contribute towards the welfare of Orcas in the wild. Seaworld has contributed 70 million dollars to the care of its captive Orcas, ensuring that they have 24/7 care from vets, behavioural phycologists and many others. To put that into perspective, SeaWorld has put in more money into the welfare of their whales than Britain has given to desperately poor countries in 3 years. !
The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), also known as the great white, white pointer, white shark, or white death, is a species of large lamniform shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major oceans. The great white shark is mainly known for its size, with mature individuals growing up to 6.4 m (21 ft) in length (although reports have been published of great white sharks measuring over 8 m (26 ft),[3] and 3,324 kg (7,328 lb) in weight). [4][5] [6][7] This shark reaches its maturity around 15 years of age and was previously believed to have a life span of over 30 years. The true lifespan of Great white sharks is far longer; now estimated to be as long as 70 years or more, making it one of the longest lived cartilaginous fish currently known. [8] Great white sharks can accelerate to speeds that exceed 56 km/h (35 mph).
The head of Dolphins have changed over the years as well; it has grown larger which shows that the lower jaw emerged. It ranges to the middle ear and this helps dolphins to be able to hear as well as to use echolocation. It’s believed that during the early Miocene period, the use of echolocation was developed in the form that dolphins depend on on it today. The early dolphins were smaller and believed to have consumed small fish as well as various organisms in the water. Researchers have carefully examined the bones of the fins for dolphins.
deep) off the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico all the way down to Brazil, in the Amazonian River Basins, around the islands of Cuba, Haiti and Puerto Rico, as well as along the central west and east coasts of Africa, up the Nile and down to Madagascar. The West Indian/Florida manatees currently inhabit the warm sub-tropical waters along the coast of Florida (as far north as the Carolinas and west along the coast of Louisiana and Texas). Though their range is quite large, manatees today exist in only a few small populations due to centuries of hunting them for meat and hides, coastal development and boating, and environmental changes. It is currently estimated that there are only about 2,200 manatees remaining in the US. They have no natural enemies except man and power boats which are responsible for most manatee deaths- (in 1990, 218 manatees or 12 % of the total population were killed by boats), though the red tide (toxins released from the bloom of dinoflagellates) of 1982 and1996 killed over 15% of the population.
SeaWorld rebutted against Blackfish’s stories on the heartbreaking capturing of Orcas in the wild by SeaWorld with the statement in their new commercial “SeaWorld does not capture killer whales in the wild. Due to the groundbreaking success of our research in marine mammal reproduction, we haven’t collected a killer whale from the wild in 35 years.” In some underhanded way this is true. the company that runs SeaWorld, Blackstone group, has not captured orca whales for the purpose of display at SeaWorld since 1985, but continued to buy Orcas from third party capturers. In addition SeaWorld insists that their whales life spans of 35 years or so is equivalent to that of wild orcas. First of all, the median life span of a SeaWorld orca is only 9 years.
They have more feathers than most other birds - about 70 feathers per square inch. Once a year, penguins malt, losing their old feathers and growing new ones. While malting (which takes about 3 weeks), they cannot swim and do not eat. Diet: African Penguins are carnivores (meat-eaters) who hunt in the sea. They eat fish (including sardines and anchovies) and squid.
Two percent of the ocean has been overlooked by people ant it leaves ninety-eight percent of the ocean for the megladon can swim. This shark could be a very intelligent shark by possibly attacking its pray as fast as it can and head down the bottom of the big blue. The evidence has proven that there was a time this shark had lived because of the physical evidence shown by the teeth collected. The pictures clearly state that there is a mega shark out there and the eyewitnesses explained that a huge shark had been around in South Africa. There may come a time when this shark may make a mistake and show its self to the world with
The resulting anxiety and tension cause fights between orcas. In the wild, orcas have strong social bonds that may last for life, their social rules prohibit serious violence against each other, and when fights do occur, they can find space to flee. In captivity, there's nowhere for them to go, which leads to injuries and death.” (SeaWorld of Hurt) Besides fighting with fellow killer whales, Orcas are biting the bars, concrete and tanks to escape due to stress and anxiety. The diet of a whale in captivity is unlike the diet of a whale in the wild. PETA’s campaign SeaWorld of Hurt shares, “In captivity, orcas are unable to hunt and obtain water from their prey, so SeaWorld gives them gelatin, a substance that is not natural for them, in an attempt to keep them hydrated.