Orcas - or killer whales - are the biggest members of the dolphin family. (And since dolphins are themselves a kind of toothed whale, an orca is really both at once.) Like other dolphins, they live in tight social groups called pods, communicate constantly with each other, and have surprisingly sophisticated culture.
What’s remarkable is that different orca pods around the world have learned different hunting techniques and pass them down through generations. Some pods herd salmon into bays. Others gang up on great white sharks. A famous pod in Antarctica makes waves with their tails in unison to wash seals off floating ice. These hunting “cultures” aren’t instincts - they’re learned and taught, just like human traditions.
Orcas also have dialects: each pod’s clicks and whistles sound a little different from the next pod’s. A whale researcher with a good ear can sometimes tell which pod a recording came from just by listening.
