Orca Social Groups

Who stays with their mother throughout their lives?

• Daughters only

• Sons only

• Daughters and sons

• Neither daughters nor sons

Answer explanation

"The mother...and her adult sons stay together throughout life"

"Adult daughters who have their own offspring may separate from their mother to some extent in order to take care of their children's needs, but will usually be found swimming nearby"

How many individuals make up a pod?

• 1-5

• 5-15

• 5-50

• 15-50

Compared to a pod, a clan is

• larger

• smaller

What defines an orca clan?

• They share the same calls

• They hunt together

• They mate together

Answer explanation

"Pods which share common calls belong to the same clan"

Which of these has been commonly observed among an orca community?

• Aggressive behavior between individuals

• Only one female in charge

• Cooperation, coordination, and acceptance

How often have the two communities (Southern and Northern) of Resident Orca been observed mixing with each other?

• Frequently

• Never

• Only during mating season

Put the orca groups in order from the largest to the smallest

• Community

• Individual orca

• Maternal group

• Pod

• Clan

What defines a "pod" of orcas?

• They are usually seen travelling together

• They share the same calls

• They are all descended from one female matriarch

From the readings or videos watched in class, describe two ways that orcas help each other. In other words, how does their social structure increase their fitness?

How well were you able to summarize the important information from the text?

• Reading and summarizing is easy for me

• Reading and summarizing is not my favorite but I can do it

• I can get the main ideas but miss important details when summarizing

• I need help with reading and summarizing