Description
The cover is navy blue with a leaping orca. Open the pop up card to a magnificent 3-D Orca Killer Whale breaching high above rough sea waves.
Messages:
- Whale, hello there.
- Get whale soon.
- Everything whale be alright.
- Whale, whale, whale: you got old.
Quotes:
- Who was the marketing genius who called them killer whales instead of sea pandas?
- Actually, orcas aren’t quite as complex as scientists imagine. Most killer whales are just four tons of doofus dressed up like a police car. ~Christopher Moore
- In response to criticism of its treatment of killer whales, Sea World said it will build them a larger habitat. When asked for comment, killer whales said, “Hey, you know what’s a larger habitat? THE OCEAN.” ~Conan O’Brien
- Whales live in families, they play in the moonlight, they talk to one another, and they care for one another in distress. They are awesome and mysterious. In their cold, wet, and forbidding world they are complete and successful. They deserve to be saved, not as potential meatballs, but as a source of encouragement to mankind. ~ Victor Blanchard Scheffer
Orca facts:
The Blackfish Orca Killer Whale is a marine mammal. They are actually dolphins, not whales. In fact, they are the largest member of the dolphin family.
Breaching allows the Orca to communicate when the noise of the ocean would mask acoustic signals.
Orca killer whales are found in every ocean on earth. Their black and white coloring makes them easy to recognize, but depending on where they live, they have very different appearances, behavior, ways of communicating and diet.
Orcas are highly intelligent, highly adaptable and able to communicate and coordinate hunting tactics. They are extremely fast swimmers and have been recorded at speeds of up to 35 mph. A wild orca pod can cover over 100 miles a day, foraging and socializing.
Blackfish:
There are currently 59 orcas in captivity at sea parks and aquariums throughout the world. About half are wild-caught; 30 were born in captivity. A third of the world’s captive orcas are in the United States, and all but one of those live at SeaWorld’s three parks in Orlando, San Diego, and San Antonio.
What does an Orca eat?
The orca killer whale hunts everything from fish to walruses: seals, sea lions, penguins, squid, sea turtles, sharks and even other kinds of whales are all on their menu. They will even attach moose swimming between islands. Depending on the season and where they are, their diet varies – some eat plenty of fish and squid, others feast mostly on seals and penguins. But wherever they are in any of the world’s oceans, average-sized orcas may eat about 500 pounds of food a day. No wild orcas have ever attacked a human.
Orcas speak with a local dialect:
Whales and dolphins are known for making a variety of sounds to communicate and navigate. Scientists recently learned that regional pods make distinctive noises akin to a local dialect! These whistles and calls are different from the “clicks” used for navigating by echolocation.
This is a card for nature lovers, birthdays, wildlife enthusiasts, zoologists, marine biologists, ocean preservationists, orca fans, scientists, whale watchers and outdoorsmen.
See also Dolphin Pod and Great White Shark