Killer Whale (Orca) Facts

With their striking black and white markings and prevalence at marine parks, the killer whale, also known as the orca or Orcinus orca, is probably one of the most easily-recognized cetacean species. The largest of the dolphin species, orcas live in oceans and seas around the world and can grow to 32 feet long and weigh up to six tons. The name killer whale originated with whalers, who called the species whale killer because of its tendency to prey on whales along with other species such as pinnipeds and fish. Over time, perhaps because of the whales tenacity and ferocity in hunting, the name was switched to killer whale. Fast Facts: Killer Whales (Orcas) Scientific Name: Orcinus orcaCommon Name(s): Killer whale, orca, blackfish, grampusBasic Animal Group:  Mammal  Ã‚  Size:16–26 feetWeight: 3–6 tonsLifespan: 29–60 yearsDiet:  CarnivoreHabitat:  All oceans and most seas with a preference for northern latitudesPopulation:  50,000Conservation  Status:  Data Deficient Description Killer whales, or orcas, are the largest member of the Delphinidae—the family of cetaceans known as the dolphins. Dolphins are a type of toothed whale, and members of the Delphinidae family share several characteristics—they have cone-shaped teeth, streamlined bodies, a pronounced beak (which is less pronounced in orcas), and one blowhole, rather than the two blowholes found in baleen whales. Male killer whales can grow to a maximum length of 32 feet, while females can grow to 27 feet in length. Males weigh up to six tons while females can weigh as little as three tons. An identifying characteristic of killer whales is their tall, dark dorsal fin, which is much larger in males—a males dorsal fin can reach a height of six feet, while a females dorsal fin can reach a maximum height of about three feet. Males also have larger pectoral fins and tail flukes. All killer whales have teeth on both their top and bottom jaws—48 to 52 teeth in total. These teeth can be up to 4 inches long. Although toothed whales have teeth, they dont chew their food—they use their teeth for capturing and tearing food. Young killers whales get their first teeth at 2 to 4 months of age. Researchers identify individual killer whales by the size and shape of their dorsal fins, the shape of the saddle-shaped, light patch behind the dorsal fin, and marks or scars on their dorsal fins or bodies. Identifying and cataloging whales based on natural markings and characteristics is a type of research called photo-identification. Photo-identification allows researchers to learn about the life histories, distribution, and behavior of individual whales, and more about species behavior and abundance as a whole.   wildestanimal/Getty Images Habitat and Range Killer whales are often described as the most cosmopolitan of all cetaceans. They can be found in all oceans of the world, and not just in the open ocean—near shore, at the entrance to rivers, in semi-enclosed seas, near the equator, and in polar regions covered with ice. In the United States, orcas are most commonly found in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Diet Killer whales are at the top of the food chain and have very diverse diets, feasting on fish, penguins, and marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, and even whales, employing teeth that can be four inches long. They are known to grab seals right off the ice. They also eat fish, squid, and seabirds. Gerard Soury/Getty Images Behavior Killer whales may work in pods to hunt their prey and have a number of interesting techniques to hunt prey, which includes working together to create waves to wash seals off ice floes and sliding onto beaches to capture prey. Killer whales use a variety of sounds for communicating, socializing and finding prey. These sounds include clicks, pulsed calls, and whistles. Their sounds are in the range of 0.1 kHz to about 40 kHz. Clicks are primarily used for echolocation, although they may also be used for communication. The pulsed calls of killer whales sound like squeaks and squawks and appear to be used for communication and socialization. They can produce sounds very rapidly—at a rate of up to 5,000 clicks per second. You can hear killer whale calls here on the Discovery of Sound in the Sea website. Different populations of killer whales make different vocalizations, and different pods within these populations may even have their own ​dialect. Some researchers can distinguish individual pods, and even matrilines (the line of relationship that can be traced from one mother to her offspring), just by their ​calls. Danita Delimont/Getty Images Reproduction and Offspring Killer whales reproduce slowly: Mothers give birth to a single baby about every three to 10 years, and pregnancy lasts for 17 months. Babies nurse for up to two years. Adult orcas generally help mothers to care for their young. While young orcas may separate from their birth pod as adults, many stay with the same pod throughout their lives. Male and female orcas. Kerstin Meyer / Getty Images Threats Orcas, like other cetaceans, are threatened by a range of human activities including noise, hunting, and habitat disturbance. Other threats faced by killer whales include pollution (orcas can carry chemicals such as PCBs, DDTs and flame retardants that can affect the immune and reproductive systems), ship strikes, reduction of prey due to overfishing, and loss of habitat, entanglement, ship strikes, irresponsible whale watching, and noise in the habitat, which can affect the ability to communicate and find prey. Conservation Status The International Union for Conservation of Nature had, for years, described orcas a conservation dependent. They changed that assessment to data deficient in 2008 to recognize the probability that different species of killer whales experience different levels of threat. Species Killer whales were long considered one species—Orcinus orca, but now it appears that there are several species (or at least, subspecies—researchers are still figuring this out) of orcas. As researchers learn more about orcas, they have proposed separating the whales into different species or subspecies based on genetics, diet, size, vocalizations, location and physical appearance. In the Southern Hemisphere, proposed species include those referred to as Type A (Antarctic), large type B (pack ice killer whale), small Type B (Gerlache killer whale), Type C (Ross Sea killer whale), and Type D (Subantarctic killer whale). In the Northern Hemisphere, proposed types include resident killer whales, Biggs (transient) killer whales, offshore killer whales, and Type 1 and 2 Eastern North Atlantic killer whales.   Determining species of killer whales is important not only in gaining information about the whales but in protecting them—it is difficult to determine the abundance of killer whales without even knowing how many species there are. Killer Whales and Humans According to Whale and Dolphin Conservation, there were 45 killer whales in captivity as of April 2013. Due to protection in the U.S. and restrictions on trade, most parks now obtain their killer whales from captive breeding programs. This practice has even been controversial enough that SeaWorld stated in 2016 that it would stop breeding orcas.  While the viewing of captive orcas has likely inspired thousands of budding marine biologists and helped scientists learn more about the species, it is a controversial practice due to the potential effects on the whales health and ability to socialize naturally. Sources â€Å"Orcas: Killer Whales Are the Larges Dolphin Species.†Ã‚  Orcas (Killer Whales): Facts and Information, 25 Mar. 2019, www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/o/orca/.NOAA. â€Å"Killer Whale.†Ã‚  NOAA Fisheries, www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/killer-whale.â€Å"Orca.†Ã‚  National Wildlife Federation, www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Orca.

Relationship Between Organizational Culture And Its Impact...

Postner and Munson (1979), identified values as being the things that matter to us or what we consider to be the right thing and Sullivan, Sullivan and Buffton (2002) suggest that it is our values that drives our behaviour, inform our decision making and actions. Rokeach (1973) made a differentiation between personal and social values. Personal values relate to our personal goals e.g. inner harmony whereas social values reflect our goals for society e.g. equality, being treated with dignity and respect. Davies et al (2007) identified that values together with our assumptions, attitudes and beliefs is what defines cultures. The evidence linking values and culture to quality improvements and quality care is conflicting. In a study examining†¦show more content†¦A common thread in their work is factors that affect motivation and needs that must be satisfied. Postner and Munson (1979) believed that understanding values was a pre-requisite of understanding motivation. Sullivan, Sullivan and Buffton (2002) similarly identified values as being a key driver of motivation and recognised that by achieving an overlap between individual and organisational values a sense of meaningfulness can be attached to work roles. The importance of empowering staff to make autonomous decisions within an organisations values framework and providing recognition for work has been identified as motivating components that support staff to find meaningfulness and fulfilment at work (Pink, 2009). Branson (2008) highlighted the importance of aligning individual and organisation values. This alignment can drive the development of an organisational culture that is framed by what it values e.g. patient safety, clinical effectiveness and patient experience. How well our values align with organisational values can influence how we feel which in turn affects our attitudes and how we behave (Kristof-Brown, Zimmerman and Johnson, 2005). When values are aligned and where staff find meaningfulness in their work, evidence suggests that they are more committed and engaged (Kahn,

Night Creature Crescent Moon Chapter 1 Free Essays

A life spent fulfilling a vow to a dead man is really no life at all, but I’d loved Simon Malone, and I’d promised. I’m a zoologist by trade, a cryptozoologist by choice. If I’d followed my training, I’d be holed up in a zoo or worse, studying giraffes and pygmy goats. We will write a custom essay sample on Night Creature: Crescent Moon Chapter 1 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Instead, I trace rumors of mythical animals and try to prove they exist. A frustrating exercise. There’s a reason no one’s captured a Bigfoot They don’t want to be found, and they’re a lot better at hiding than anyone on earth is at seeking. Or at least that’s my theory, and I’m sticking to it Most cryptozoologists attempt to find undiscovered species or evolutionary wonders – real animals, nothing paranormal about them – but not me. Nope. I’d made that vow. Foolish, but when a woman loves a man the way that I loved Simon, she does foolish things, especially when he’s dying in her arms. So I follow every legend, every folk tale, every scrap of information, trying to uncover something mythical and prove it real. Though I’ve never believed in magic, my husband did, and the only thing I’ve ever believed in was him. I was having very little luck with my quest until the night the phone rang at 3:00 A.M. Insomnia and a very empty checking account made me answer it despite the hour. â€Å"Hello?† â€Å"Dr. Malone?† The voice was male, a bit shaky, old or perhaps ill. â€Å"Not yet† I needed to find a cryptid – translation: unknown animal – prove its existence, write a thesis. Then I could attach those lovely letters – Ph.D. – at the end of my name. But since the whole vow incident, I’d been too busy chasing lake monsters and Sasquatch clones to spend time finding a new breed of anything. â€Å"Is this Diana Malone?† â€Å"Yes. Who’s this?† â€Å"Frank Tallient† The name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t figure out why. â€Å"Have we met?† â€Å"No. I got your number from Rick Canfield.† Swell. The last guy who’d said those immortal words, â€Å"You’re fired.† Rick was a lawyer who’d gone on a fishing trip with a bunch of other lawyers near Lake of the Woods, Minnesota. In the middle of the night he’d seen something in the lake. Something slick and black and very, very big. Being a lawyer, he was smart enough to know he shouldn’t tell the others he’d lost his mind. Not yet. Instead, he’d gone home, searched the Internet, and made some phone calls, trying to find someone to help him discover if what he’d seen had been real or imagined. He’d found me. â€Å"Rick thought you’d be free to help me,† Tallient continued. I was free all right Unemployed. Again. A common occurrence in my life. I was very good at looking for things, not so good at actually finding them. However, I was one of the few cryptozoologists willing to travel on a whim for cash. I wasn’t associated with a university – not anymore. Not since Simon had gone over the edge, tarnishing both his reputation and my own. I depended on the kindness of strangers – hell, let’s be honest and just call them strange – to fund my expeditions. Until tonight, I’d been fresh out of both. â€Å"Since you didn’t locate Nessie – † Tallient began. â€Å"Nessie’s the Loch Ness Monster. I was searching for Woody.† Which was the name Rick had bestowed on the thing. ; People have no originality when naming lake beasts, always opting for some variation of the body of water they supposedly resided in. Typically, the moment I’d arrived at Lake of the Woods with my cameras and recorders whatever Rick might have seen had gone poof. If it had ever been there in the first place. In my expert opinion, an obscenely large muskie was responsible for the tales, not a supernatural lake monster, but I hadn’t been able to prove that, either. â€Å"I have a job for you,† Tallient continued. ‘I’m listening.† I had no choice. Though my parents were incredibly wealthy, they thought I was nuts and had stopped speaking to me the instant I married Simon. After all, what could a handsome, brilliant, up-and-coming zoologist from Liverpool see in a not-very-pretty, far too sturdy grad student unless it was her parents’ millions? He already had a green card. That Simon had told them exactly what they could do with their money had only made me love him more. In truth, I fit into Simon’s world better than I’d ever fit in my own. I stood five-foot-ten in my bare feet; on a good day I weighed a hundred and seventy. I liked the out-of-doors – didn’t mind dirt or sun, wind or rain. I’d joined the Girl Scouts just so I could camp. I’d done pretty much anything and everything I could think of to emphasize my differences from the never-too-rich, never-too-thin lifestyle of my mother. â€Å"Can you access the Internet?† Tallient asked. â€Å"Hold on.† I tapped my laptop, which sprang from asleep to awake much quicker than I ever did. â€Å"OK.† Tallient recited a www-dot address. An instant later, a newspaper article spilled across my screen. † ‘Man Found Dead in a Swamp,'† I read. â€Å"Not unusual.† Swamps were notorious dumping grounds for bodies. If the muck didn’t take them, the alligators would. â€Å"Keep going.† â€Å"Throat torn. Feral dogs. Huh.† I accessed the next page. â€Å"Child missing. Coyotes. No body. Seems straightforward.† â€Å"Not really.† Tallient recited a second address, and I read some more. â€Å"Wolf sightings.† My heart increased in tempo. Wolves had been Simon’s specialty; they’d turned into his obsession. Now they were mine. â€Å"Where is this?† I demanded. â€Å"New Orleans.† If possible, my heart beat even faster. Once red wolves had roamed the Southeast from the Atlantic to the Gulf and west to Texas. They’d been sighted as far norm as Missouri and Pennsylvania. But in 1980 the red wolf had been declared extinct in the wild. In 1987 they’d been reintroduced, but only in North Carolina. So†¦ â€Å"There aren’t any wolves in Louisiana,† I said. â€Å"Precisely.† â€Å"There’s a legend, though†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I struggled to remember it. â€Å"Honey Island Swamp monster.† ‘I doubt that Bigfoot-like footprints found thirty years ago have any relationship to death, disappearance, and wolves where they aren’t supposed to be.† He had a point. â€Å"Could be an ABC,† I ventured. The acronym stood for â€Å"Alien Big Cat† – a cryptozoological label given to reports of out-of-place felines. Black panthers in Wisconsin. A jaguar in Maine. Happens a lot more than you’d think. Most of the tune ABCs were explained away as exotic animals released into the woods when they became too hard to handle or too big to fit in an apartment Funny thing was, no one ever found them. If they were pets, wouldn’t they be easy to catch? Wouldn’t their bones, or even their collars, turn up after a truly wild animal killed them? Wouldn’t there be at least one record of an ABC being hit by a truck on the interstate? But there wasn’t. â€Å"This is a wolf, not a cat,† Tallient said. I was impressed with his knowledge of cryptoterminology but too caught up in the mystery unfolding before my eyes to compliment him on it â€Å"Same principle,† I murmured. â€Å"Could be someone dumped a wolf in the swamp. Nothing special about it† Except wolves weren’t vicious. They didn’t attack people. Unless they were starving, wolf-dog hybrids, or rabid. None of which were a good thing. â€Å"There’ve been whispers of wolves in and around New Orleans for years,† he continued. â€Å"How many years?† â€Å"At least a hundred.† â€Å"What?† Tallient chuckled. â€Å"I thought you’d enjoy that. The disturbances don’t seem to occur in any particular month, or even a common season. But they always happen during the same lunar phase.† â€Å"Full moon,† I guessed. No matter what the skeptics say, full moons drive people and animals wacko. Ask anyone who’s ever worked in an emergency room, psych ward, or county zoo. â€Å"Not full,† Tallient said. â€Å"Crescent† I glanced at the thin, silver, smiling moon visible from my window. â€Å"What was the date on those articles?† ‘†¢May.† I frowned. Five months ago. â€Å"Since then?† â€Å"Nothing.† â€Å"Could be because the bodies weren’t found.† â€Å"Exactly. Things that hunt under a certain phase of the moon do so every month. They can’t help themselves.† I wasn’t sure about â€Å"things,† but I was sure about animals. They were nothing if not creatures of habit. â€Å"A body was found yesterday,† Tallient continued. â€Å"Hasn’t hit the papers yet.† I looked at the moon again. Guess I was right â€Å"What’s your interest in this?† I asked. â€Å"Cryptozoology fascinates me. I’d love to go on an expedition, but I’m†¦ not well.† I stood. My feet literally itched. I bounced on my toes as excitement threatened to make me jump at this chance. I had to remember What seemed too good to be true often was. â€Å"You want to pay me to find a wolf where a wolf isn’t supposed to be. Once I do, then what?† â€Å"Trap it and call me.† Not an unusual request in my line of work. The people who hired me usually did so in the hopes that they would become famous by revealing some mythical creature to the world, and they wanted to be the ones to do the revealing. I had no problem with that as long as the disclosure took place. All I wanted was to prove Simon hadn’t been crazy. â€Å"I can do that,† I agreed. â€Å"You do realize this isn’t just a wolf ?† I hoped not, but my hopes weren’t often realized. â€Å"They call it a loup-garou,† Tallient continued. â€Å"That’s French for – â€Å" â€Å"Werewolf.† The rush of adrenaline made me dizzy. Though I took jobs searching for any paranormal entity – beggars couldn’t be choosers – the true focus of my quest should have been a lycanthrope. As Simon’s had been. The only problem was, I just couldn’t believe. Even though my maiden name was O’Malley and my father’s family hailed from the land of leprechauns and fairies, in Boston, where I grew up, the only fanciful thing was the city’s rabid belief in a curse on the BoSox. In my youth there’d been no nonsense allowed – no Santa, no tooth fairy – I had to fight to read fiction. Which might explain why I fell so in love with a man who dreamed of magic. I glanced around our apartment near the campus of the University of Chicago. I hadn’t moved a book, hadn’t given away his clothes, hadn’t realized until just this moment how pathetic that was. ‘I find it strange,† Tallient continued, â€Å"that odd things happen under a crescent moon in the Crescent City, don’t you?† I found it more than strange. I found it irresistible. â€Å"Are you interested?† Why did he bother to ask? He had to have heard how Simon had died. He had to know Dr. Malone’s sterling reputation had wound up in tatters. Tallient might not be aware that I’d vowed to make everyone who’d scorned Simon eat their words, but he had to suspect it considering what I’d been doing in the four years since my husband had died. My gaze fell on the only picture I had of Simon – knee-deep in a Canadian lake, sum, scholarly, blond, and brilliant – his grin still made me yearn. My stomach flopped as it did every time I remembered he was gone forever. But his hopes, his dreams, his work, lived on in me. â€Å"I’ll be on a plane in the morning.† How to cite Night Creature: Crescent Moon Chapter 1, Essay examples

Enders Game Book Report free essay sample

To Lead In the novel Enders Game by Orson Scott Card, the main character Ender is put up against one of the toughest challenges on his life. He becomes aware of his challenge when he becomes a little older, yet before that, little did he know that he will have to save the world. Ender in Enders Game is portrayed as a natural leader and fighter who is a killer at heart and can use his understanding of the enemy and natural skill to kill to destroy them. However, once he understands his enemy, he also feels compassion for his enemy. And because of this compassion, he hates himself for destroying his enemy. At the beginning of the story, Ender lives with one mean older sibling named Peter who always bullies him. He also lives with a loving older sister named Valentine, and because he has two older siblings, he was considered a third. We will write a custom essay sample on Enders Game Book Report or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Ender and Peter were both competing to go to battle school in space, where they would learn to fight and destroy the buggers who want to destroy Earth. However, Ender was the only one to get accepted since Peter was too ruthless. Once in battle school Ender does very well for the time he was there and was promoted quickly. Soon, he was in Command school at a record young age. He does simulations of battles with the buggers and wins every single one of them. In the end he found out that the simulations were real and he had destroyed all the buggers but one, to whom he promised to let live in a safe place on a planet far away. Ender is characterized by his reactions in three key situations: When he is at home with his sister, in battle at the battle school, and with his enemies. In the beginning, Ender is living on Earth with his father, mother, brother, and sister. His brother treats him like he is an alien just because he was the third born child so he would pick on him, call him names, and even beat him up. Yet even though he could be mean too, his compassion for his sister kept him from becoming a monster like Peter. Ender never wanted to be a killer like Peter, but no matter what he told himself or where he was, he was actually a killer at heart. This is shown when Ender was playing a game on his computer. While he was playing the game, he kept dieing over and over again because he had no choice in the game. Nevertheless, after he got frustrated, he bore into the Giants eye in the game until it died. This shows that no matter how hard he tries he will always have the want to kill. This is shown when it said, I am a murderer even when I play, Peter would be proud of me. Not only was Ender a killer at heart, but also a natural leader in battle school. Ender started off as a launchy in battle school and got no respect. But soon, he was being promoted at an extreme rate. By the time his launchy friends became parts of armies, he was already a commander of an army. Ender was surrounded by kids twice his size since he was promoted so early. At first, it was very hard for him because he was so small. Soon though, he was at the top of the ranks with respect from all of the kids in the school, no matter how big or small. Ender learned quickly and perfectly, he could get almost anyone to follow him. Enders great leadership can be seen in this quote, The soldiers knew by now that Ender could be brutal in the way he talked to groups, but when he worked with an individual he was always patient, explaining as often as necessary, making suggestions quietly, listening to questions and problems and explanations. A final defining incident was between Ender and the Buggers. Ender was always being promoted, and after only a few years he was in command school where he would learn to command an army. He went through so called simulations of how fights with buggers would be which turned out to be real in the end. By the time he found out that they were real, he had already killed every single bugger on the bugger planet, all but one. He found this one baby queen bugger when the humans began to colonize the bugger planet. When he found it he understood the bugger race and promised to let it live on some remote planet. Once all the buggers were cleared off the planet and buildings were built Ender became the Minister of Colonization in the colony at a still young age. He was a great leader and learned quickly. This is revealed when Ender just arrived in the colony, it said He worked hard on the new world. He quickly understood the differences between military and civilian leadership, and governed by persuasion rather then fiat, and by working as hard as anyone at the tasks involved in setting up a self-sustaining economy. Ultimately, Ender in Enders Game was personified as a natural leader who can find a way to handle any situation. In our world today, a person as naturally talented and young as Ender could be an attribute yet also a problem. He is an attribute because he could become a great leader in our society today, such as a president. However, he is a problem because someone as young and skilled in leading armies as Ender could be persuaded into working for the wrong people. People like Ender would be valued in my world and would be considered a hero. In his own words, Ender said I am really a killer at heart, truly