It is hard to guess what a Killer whale weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Killer whale (Orcinus orca) on average weights 5629.17 kg (12410.19 lbs).
The Killer whale is from the family Delphinidae (genus: Orcinus). It is usually born with about 158.83 kg (350.16 lbs). They can live for up to 100 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 8.66 meter (28′ 5″). Usually, Killer whales have 1 babies per litter.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The killer whale, or orca (Orcinus orca), is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. Killer whales have a diverse diet, although individual populations often specialize in particular types of prey. Some feed exclusively on fish, while others hunt marine mammals such as seals and other species of dolphin. They have been known to attack baleen whale calves, and even adult whales. Killer whales are apex predators, as no animal preys on them. A cosmopolitan species, they can be found in each of the world’s oceans in a variety of marine environments, from Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas, absent only from the Baltic and Black seas, and some areas of the Arctic Ocean.Killer whales are highly social; some populations are composed of matrilineal family groups (pods) which are the most stable of any animal species. Their sophisticated hunting techniques and vocal behaviours, which are often specific to a particular group and passed across generations, have been described as manifestations of animal culture.The International Union for Conservation of Nature assesses the orca’s conservation status as data deficient because of the likelihood that two or more killer whale types are separate species. Some local populations are considered threatened or endangered due to prey depletion, habitat loss, pollution (by PCBs), capture for marine mammal parks, and conflicts with human fisheries. In late 2005, the southern resident killer whales, which swim in British Columbia and Washington state waters, were placed on the U.S. Endangered Species list.Wild killer whales are not considered a threat to humans, but there have been cases of captive orcas killing or injuring their handlers at marine theme parks. Killer whales feature strongly in the mythologies of indigenous cultures, with their reputation ranging from being the souls of humans to merciless killers.
Animals of the same family as a Killer whale
We found other animals of the Delphinidae family:
- Irrawaddy dolphin bringing 190 kilos (418.88 lbs) to the scale
- Spinner dolphin bringing 50.5 kilos (111.33 lbs) to the scale
- False killer whale bringing 1360 kilos (2998.28 lbs) to the scale
- Long-finned pilot whale bringing 800 kilos (1763.7 lbs) to the scale
- Risso’s dolphin bringing 387.25 kilos (853.74 lbs) to the scale
- Tucuxi bringing 42.82 kilos (94.4 lbs) to the scale
- Atlantic humpback dolphin bringing 100 kilos (220.46 lbs) to the scale
- Hector’s dolphin bringing 50 kilos (110.23 lbs) to the scale
- Atlantic spotted dolphin bringing 110 kilos (242.51 lbs) to the scale
- Northern right whale dolphin bringing 113 kilos (249.12 lbs) to the scale
Animals with the same weight as a Killer whale
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Orcinus orca:
- African forest elephant with a weight of 4750 kilos (10471.95 lbs)
- Cuvier’s beaked whale with a weight of 4772.5 kilos (10521.55 lbs)
- Gervais’ beaked whale with a weight of 5600 kilos (12345.87 lbs)
- Common minke whale with a weight of 5588.55 kilos (12320.63 lbs)
- Stejneger’s beaked whale with a weight of 4800 kilos (10582.18 lbs)
Animals with the same size as a Killer whale
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Killer whale:
- Northern bottlenose whale with a size of 8.79 meter (28′ 10″)
- Steller’s sea cow with a size of 7.63 meter (25′ 1″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Killer whale
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Killer whale:
- White rhinoceros
- Moor macaque
- Harbor seal
- South American fur seal
- Long-tongued fruit bat
- Stein’s cuscus
- Gilbert’s potoroo
- Celebes crested macaque
- Collared mangabey
- Ground pangolin
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Killer whale
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Killer whale:
- African bush elephant with an average maximal age of 80 years
- Fin whale with an average maximal age of 116 years
- Asian elephant with an average maximal age of 80 years
- Blue whale with an average maximal age of 110 years
- Humpback whale with an average maximal age of 95 years