Why are killer whales called killer whales?

Answer 1

I think it is a variation of "Killer of Whales"

Killer whales are one of the top predators in the sea. They tend to eat almost anything that they come across, their diet depending on exactly what is living in their home waters. They are known to eat fish, squid, seals, sea lions, penguins, and even other whales, such as sperm whales. There are no reports of whale attacks on humans in the wild, although some have be known to happen in captive situations. Their ability to take on almost any prey, regardless of size, has earned these creatures both a fearsome reputation and a fearful name.

You can thank the Greeks and the Romans for the name Orca, and the early Spanish sailors for the term Killer Whale.

Ancient Romans originally applied the name Orca to these animals, possibly borrowing it from the Greek opue.

One other thing, they are not really whales, but a type of dolphin.
Orcas are called killer whales due to the fact that they are the top predator in the ocean. They are the hunters, not the hunted. They eat almost anything and everything they can find including other whales.
because fisherman and sailors would call these whales killer(s) (of) whale(s). That is how it got the name killer whale

Answer 2

Actually, they were originally called 'whale killers' by fishermen because their diets consists of whales and dolphins as well as other things such as seals and penguins. sooner or later the two words were switched to get the name 'killer whale'. In truth a killer whale is technically a dolphin but since dolphins and whales are so closely related it doesn't really matter. The scientific name for this massive carnivore is Orcinus Orca

There hasn't really been any incidents of them killing people in the wild. But they are known to kill people in captivity. Wouldn't you be upset if you were ripped away from your family in a HUGE sea and forced to live in a tiny tank too? That's really only why they kill people in captivity. They're depressed and they just want to go home and be with they're family again.

Answer 3

Because it kills

Originally, fishermen called them whale killers, as they were observed from fishing Vessels, killing many species of whales. Over many years, this has changed to killer whale. Their true name is Orca.
Killer whales earned their name because the kill whales. They are often called the king of the sea because they have been known to attack and kill all sea creatures, including sharks and dolphins. They are typically playful around humans but should still not be approached.
The proper name for the "killer whale" is Orca, however they are often called "killer whales," and less frequently "black whales."

Most whales are baleen whales, and eat krill by skimming them out of water drawn into the mouth. Orcas, however, are toothed whales, so they eat fish. They also eat mammals, notably sea lions and seals, but also walruses and other whales. They eat sharks and rays and sea turtles. They have been known to bite humans, and in captivity are the only whales that have killed humans.

Orcas are efficient and ruthless predators. They are known to swim in packs to create a wave that will wash over an ice floe and wash seals on that floe into the water. They take land-based animals, such as deer, if they catch them swimming between islands. They take penguins. They take seabirds. One whale at a a marine park learned to vomit up fish to attract gulls, then eat the gulls.

There is an excellent National Geographic video called Killer Whales: Wolves of the Sea that show a pack of orcas harrying a mother humpback and her baby. They harass the baby until it tires, then leap onto it, holding it down until it drowns. After all that, they only eat the tender tongue and leave the rest for the carrion-eaters.

Answer 4

It was mainly down to the early misunderstanding of orcas. First of all, humans thought orcas were whales due to their size but this was later disproved. They are called 'killer' whales because they have no natural predators and have been known to eat great white sharks and blue whales.

Answer 5

The killer whale is surprisingly not a whale it is the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family delphinidae. The name killer whale is often misleading as people think that the dolphin is a whale. But why is the killer whale called killer whale. The answer for that is people saw the killer whale hunting and killing whales. Yes the killer whale does often hunt down whales even blue whales. At first people started calling the dolphin the killer of whales but eventually the name was shortened to killer whale.

Answer 6

The Killer Whale isn't a whale its a dolphin. They got their name by being known as the whale killer. They only can even take down a Blue Whale!

Answer 7

Killer Whales are called Killer whales because people either 1. Mistaked them for sharks, or 2. Were afraid of the black and white colors.Well or that is just an awkward name for them!

Answer 8

The Orca is a species of whale in the dolphin family. Unlike most species of whale, they have teeth (instead of baleen), and they hunt other fish, similar in the way as sharks.

Answer 9

because its long and stretchy

Answer 2

Because they are of the Dolphin family rather than whale group of the species classification.

Answer 10

because a sighentific name of the whale