Official Kids Mag www.kidscoop.com © Vicki Whiting February 2022
10
From the land, the orca's black and
white pattern may not look like good
camouflage. But it is, and it helps
the orca sneak up on its prey.
When an orca is swimming
in the deep, fish swimming
above it look down and see
only inky darkness.
Fish swimming below an
orca look up to the white
of the orca's underbody,
which blends with the bright
light of the sun shining down.
Killer whales are powerful predators that eat fish, seals, sharks and even other whales. However, they are not interested in
eating people. There has been only one attack on a person in the wild. Scientists believe the whale mistook a surfer for a seal.
Interestingly, the whale realized the mistake and spat the person out.
The scientific
name for killer
whales is
Orcinus orca.
They are often
called orcas.
Orcas have a patch of gray
behind the dorsal fin. This patch
is called a saddle patch. Each
orca has its own distinctively
shaped saddle patch.
Orcas have 40 to 52 sharp teeth,
each of which is about three
inches long. As an orca gets
older, it grows layers on
the outside of its teeth,
forming rings. If you
slice an orca tooth and
count the layers, you
can discover the age
of the orca.
Standards Link: Life Science: Students know that living organisms have
distinct structures and body systems that serve specific functions in
growth, survival and reproduction.
Draw over the
pencil lines in
ink. Erase the
pencil lines. Fill in the
black patches of the body.
Follow these easy steps to create a whale
of a drawing!
