# Killer Whale **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 7, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-whale/598916 "2011-10-07T17:15:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-whale/598916/1 "2011-10-07T17:15:59Z")
Is there really such a thing as a “Killer Whale”? I realize that a Sea World trainer was recently killed by a whale, however that was a captive whale and the situation was unique. What I am talking about is a human hunting whale that has trolled the seas in search of human “sacrifices”. How did the term Killer get associated with whales? Do they turn on humans when around them in the wild or are they called that because they are so big they look terrifying? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-whale/598916/2 "2011-10-07T17:17:30Z")
> [@obbn](#): > > or are they called that because they are so big they look terrifying? I think it’s because they go about killing and eating seals and such. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-whale/598916/3 "2011-10-07T18:59:47Z")
There are no documented cases of Orcas killing humans. They properly belong to the dolphin group, although it should be noted that the terms “whale” and “dolphin” don’t have scientific meanings. ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-whale/598916/4 "2011-10-07T19:05:03Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > There are no documented cases of Orcas killing humans. There are several documented cases of Orcas killing humans, but they have all been in captivity. There are no documented cases of \*\*wild \*\*orcas killing humans. > **[Orca attacks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whale_attacks_on_humans)** > > Orcas are large, powerful aquatic apex predators. There have been incidents where orcas were perceived to attack humans in the wild, but such attacks are less common than those by captive orcas. In captivity, there have been several non-fatal and four fatal attacks on humans since the 1990s. Experts are divided as to whether the injuries and deaths were accidental or deliberate attempts to cause harm. > There are a few recorded cases of wild orcas "threatening" humans, but there have been no fat... ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-whale/598916/5 "2011-10-07T19:07:30Z")
> [@AndrewL](#): > > There are several documented cases of Orcas killing humans, but they have all been in captivity. There are no documented cases of \*\*wild \*\*orcas killing humans. > > [Orca attacks - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whale_attacks_on_humans) Good catch. That is what I meant, but was sloppy. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-whale/598916/6 "2011-10-07T20:07:22Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I think it’s because they go about killing and eating seals and such. That’s kinda what the early citations from the OED imply, not that it has anything to do with killing humans. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-whale/598916/7 "2011-10-07T20:30:08Z")
From here: [http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Animals/Archives/2006/Orcas-on-the-Edge.aspx](http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Animals/Archives/2006/Orcas-on-the-Edge.aspx) > [@](#): > > n recent years, the killer whale has been more commonly called “orca” to avoid the negative connotations of “killer” and perhaps to avoid calling this dolphin species a whale. Nevertheless, most biologists still treat “killer whale” as the accepted common name. It is derived from the name Basque whalers gave the species: ballena asesina–“whale killer”–an appropriate moniker for a predator that hunts and eats whales. The scientific name is Orcinus orca, derived from the Latin word for “vat,” apparently a reference to the animal’s barrel-shaped body. ---
**Author:** ![AndyLee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@AndyLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyLee)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-whale/598916/8 "2011-10-07T20:41:17Z")
> [@AndrewL](#): > > There are several documented cases of Orcas killing humans, but they have all been in captivity. There are no documented cases of \*\*wild \*\*orcas killing humans. > > [Orca attacks - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whale_attacks_on_humans) That’s because the orcas are sneaky in the wild and they only kill homeless people that no one will ever miss 🙂 What I like are the “false killer whales.” I mean imagine being given a tough name like “killer whale” and then having “false” tacked on to it. If I were a false killer whale, I’d want a new name ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-whale/598916/9 "2011-10-07T20:45:25Z")
Well, Moby Dick was a white whale. Orcas are white whales. Maybe this is the social effect of whale racism. I’ll bet if these white whales were given the same opportunities as black, blue and gray whales, these problems wouldn’t occur. I dream of a day where the color of a whale’s character… ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-whale/598916/10 "2011-10-08T01:05:08Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Orcas are white whales. Um, [not really](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Orca_Orlando_Seaworld.jpg). Moby Dick was, I presume, an albino sperm whale, and so white all over, quite unlike an orca. Perhaps you are thinking of [beluga whales](http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/004/cache/beluga-whale_458_600x450.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-whale/598916/11 "2011-10-08T01:25:36Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Um, [not really](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Orca_Orlando_Seaworld.jpg). Moby Dick was, I presume, an albino sperm whale, and so white all over, quite unlike an orca. Perhaps you are thinking of [beluga whales](http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/004/cache/beluga-whale_458_600x450.jpg). Well I was going to call you a racist, but this has grown boring quickly. Beluga whales produce fabulous caviar though.😉