Sea Shorts: How to ID a killer whale

With their black and white patterning, orca (aka killer whales) are pretty distinct, but did you know that it is possible to identify individual orca just by looking at them?

There are a few physical features that can help us identify one orca from another. The most common features are the dorsal fin, saddle patch, and fluke. The eye patch and pectoral fins can also help us out.

These are the main features that helps us identify one individual from another. Orca image credit: Clker-Free-Vector-Images (Pixabay Licence)

The dorsal fin is probably the part you will see the most. Each one is slightly different, but it can be hard to tell the difference. Even if you can’t identify an individual from the dorsal fin, you can identify the sex. Males have big, upright fins whilst females are smaller and

Can you tell what sex these orca are? The one at the back sadly lost part of its dorsal fin. Credit: Samantha Andrews / Ocean Oculus