False Killer Whale

Quick Take

• This animal has been documented both stealing fish from human lines AND voluntarily offering food to divers, and the reason behind this behavior reveals something unexpected about its social intelligence. See the social behavior →
• Its vocal range outpaces human speech, yet scientists still can't fully explain what it's actually saying. Explore their vocalizations →
• The false killer whale spans nearly every ocean on Earth, yet that massive range has done little to protect it. The threat driving its decline is more insidious than overhunting. Discover the hidden threats →
• Its reproductive pace is so extreme that it shapes the species' entire survival strategy, and the numbers involved are hard to believe. See the reproductive numbers →

The false killer whale is a fast and agile swimmer, a peak predator, and a highly intelligent and social animal. The name arises from the physical similarities between orcas and false killer whales. Until 1862, early taxonomists classified both species within the same genus. Despite the name, this species is sometimes mistaken for the bottlenose dolphin or short-finned pilot whale. It is now under threat in certain parts of its range.

5 Incredible False Killer Whale Facts

• The false killer whale is a highly social species that forms pods of up to 500 members, some of which can include oceanic dolphins. These pods sometimes break up into smaller groups of around 10 to 30 while hunting.
• The false killer whale has a diverse range of vocalizations that include whistles, squeals, and pulsating noises. Although it is not entirely clear what they’re saying, this species has so many different sounds at its disposal that experts have suggested it must be a complex form of communication. This vocal diversity far surpasses the range of sounds produced by humans.
• One of the more amazing facts about its intelligence is that the false killer whale will ride in the wake of a ship for extra speed and actually leap out over the wake. Very few other animals make this leaping motion in a ship’s wake.
• Large numbers of false killer whales will sometimes become accidentally stranded on beaches, possibly while hunting for food. Such events can make for a grim spectacle.
• The false killer whale will sometimes snatch food right out of fishing lines. However, it has also been known to offer food to divers.

Classification and Scientific Name

The scientific name of these animals is Pseudorca crassidens. Pseudorca means pseudo (or false) orca, while crassidens means thick-toothed in Latin. The false killer whale is the only currently living member of its genus (although the fossil record shows there were two additional known species). It belongs to the family Delphinidae, making it closely related to oceanic dolphins and orcas.

Obviously, as a cetacean, this is a type of mammal through and through because it gives birth to live young and nurses them with milk. Cetaceans evolved from hoofed mammals approximately 50 million years ago. An early cetacean ancestor probably looked like the modern deer-like chevrotain, but the hippos are the closest living relatives.

Evolution

A false killer whale fossil was first discovered in 1843 in sediments from a marine environment believed to have existed approximately 126,000 years ago. The false killer whale is in the family of oceanic dolphins, and their closest living relatives are Risso’s dolphins, the pilot whale, the melon-headed whale, and the pygmy killer whale. Once thought to be extinct, the false killer whale was assigned its own genus in the late 1800s when scientists determined it was neither a killer whale nor a dolphin.

Appearance

These animals resemble a cross between a dolphin (with a sleek, streamlined body) and a killer whale (due to the rounded head with no beak). Nevertheless, you probably wouldn’t mistake them for an orca. The false killer whale has a much smaller dorsal fin and a distinctly curved hump on the flippers. And instead of the black and white coloration of the orca, the false killer whale has a black or dark gray coloration with a pale or white streak along the underside. This makes it look more like an oceanic dolphin.

The male of this species measures up to 20 feet long and 3,000 or 4,000 pounds in weight, while the female measures a slightly smaller 16 feet in length. For reference, this is roughly the length of a pickup truck.

Distribution, Population, And Habitat

These animals have a truly massive territory that spans every continent except Antarctica. Due to its preference for temperate and warm tropical waters, this species has a natural range that extends around the coasts of Africa, India, the Pacific Asia region (including Australia and New Zealand), the American Pacific Coast as far as Hawaii, the Caribbean Sea, and the Mediterranean. It has also been found as far north as the North Sea around Britain and Norway, China and Japan, Pacific Canada, and Alaska. They typically dive to around 2,000 feet in search of food, but as mammals, they must come up occasionally for air.

Exact population figures are unknown, but local populations numbering in the low tens of thousands have been observed in certain regions, such as China and Japan. Despite its wide range, this species is actually near threatened. The biggest threats to its survival are the depletion of prey, injury or death from net entanglements, and environmental pollution. Even though the United States has banned many harmful chemicals, pollution can still travel the world’s currents from other regions. Since this species occupies the top of the food chain, it is exposed to toxins that accumulate at lower levels.

Predators And Prey

Like many dolphins, these animals feed almost exclusively on squid, fish, and, to a smaller degree, marine mammals like sea lions and seals. Some of the more common prey include yellowtail, yellowfin tuna, perch, and salmon. The false killer whale attacks prey by catching them in its mouth while swimming at high speeds. It will then shake its prey until it dies and peels off the skin with its sharp teeth.

The false killer whale has few natural predators in the wild apart from sharks and other killer whales, but calves are largely defenseless and far more vulnerable to attack. They rely on the protection of their mother and the entire group. Humans do sometimes hunt false killer whales, but not in particularly large numbers or on an industrial scale.

Reproduction And Lifespan

Like many other cetaceans, the false killer whale has a rather complex reproductive cycle that involves long maturation and development times. The breeding season lasts all year long but seems to peak in late winter or early spring, during which time both males and females will have multiple mating partners. After copulation, the female undertakes a long and difficult pregnancy that lasts up to 16 months. It’s no surprise then that she only produces a single calf at a time and does not conceive again for around seven years.

The young calf emerges from the womb with the ability to swim on its own. However, it will stay with its mother for up to two years, receiving protection, guidance, nutrition from her milk, and essential survival skills. It takes around eight to 11 years for females to mature and eight to 10 years for males. This development time sets them up for a long and successful life, usually lasting around 60 years in the wild. Females begin to experience menopause between 44 and 55 years of age.

Uses In Fishing And Cooking

The false killer whale is rarely hunted for food or other resources, with a few notable exceptions. In some Japanese villages, people use boats to herd them into a bay or onto a beach to prevent their escape. People in the eastern tropical Pacific region may also consume their meat.