Killer Whale
The killer whale is the largest member of the dolphin family. It has a distinctive black and white pattern, with a blunt head and tall dorsal fin that is triangular in shape and in the middle of its back. The maximum recorded length for a male is 9.0 metres, and for a female it's 7.7 metres. However, whales in the British Columbia population tend to be much smaller. Killer whales live in any ocean between 0 degrees Celsius and tropical water temperature. The depth of the ocean doesn't affect them—they have even been known to enter rivers. Killer whales travel in pods, which normally consist of a mother and her offspring. Resident pods can have up to three or four generations in one pod. Male calves born into a resident pod do not leave their mother's pod. Females, on the other hand, may form sub-pods with their own offspring later on in life. Transient whales don't always stay with a group for life. Either sex may leave their mother to travel, either alone or with another transient group. There are normally only two to six whales in a transient group, but it can reach up to 20. Killer whales are found in all three of Canada's oceans, and have even been known to enter Hudson Bay and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. They are, however, uncommon in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. They are most often seen off the southern coast of British Columbia.
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