Yes, killer whales are indeed dolphins.
In fact killer whale are the largest living mammals in the dolphin family, and have the second largest brain of all living marine mammals.
They are also one of the worlds most powerful predators with the most diverse eating habits of all the cetacean species and are the largest living mammals known to consume other living mammals!
Killer whales are known as apex predators meaning they are able to hunt other animals without fear of being attacked themselves.
These dolphins consume everything from fish, squid and octopus to marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, penguins and even whales.
Some of the most interesting foods they have been known to consume include polar bears, sharks, seabirds and even moose.
The reason these dolphins are called killer whales is because of their large size.
killer whales can grow to be over 26 ft. long and weigh more than 6,000 pounds.
They are also name killer whales because of their highly skilled hunting techniques and large diets.
These dolphins have often been referred to as the wolves of the sea due to their highly organized group oriented hunting methods.
One of these hunting methods involves a group of killer whales circling a school of fish and herding them into a tight ball.
These dolphins will then slap the fish or water with their flukes to stun the fish and take turns darting in and eating their petrified prey.
Another method they use involves hunting sharks where these dolphins attempt to attack the shark from underneath to bring it up to the surface of the water and will either try to ram it or use their flukes to try to flip the shark which temporarily paralyzes it so that they can consume the shark without fear of being attacked themselves.
Killer whales have also been seen leaping onto and sliding across sheets of ice in an attempt to grab hold of a penguin, polar bear or seal.
When it comes to communication killer whales have a highly developed social structure that is comparable to that of humans and elephants.
As many as four generations of family members may be seen traveling together in a pod.
Even when the children are fully grown they continue to maintain a close relationship with their mother.
Killer whales are also very intelligent creatures and are capable of learning complex tasks as well as teaching one another how to perform specific functions and can learn from watching and practicing what their adults and peers do.
Today killer whales can be seen performing at marine parks doing leaps, flips and various other crowd pleasing tricks for thousands of people each year.
They have also become very popular in t.v. shows and movies with movies such as Free Willy and Happy Feet depicting these mammals as extremely friendly and intelligent.
Dolphins are so intelligent in fact that they have peaked the interests of scientists for years and researchers have been trying to decipher their language so that one day humans and dolphins will be able to talk to one another.
No wonder everyone finds killer whales so fascinating, they have so many interesting qualities.
Note: Despite their large diet (including marine mammals) killer whales do not appear to have any desire to attack or consume people. Some believe that this is because humans do not resemble any types of foods that a killer whale would eat or that killer whales simply do not like the way humans taste. Others have stated that killer whales may have intellectually decided as a society that they should not hunt or kill humans. Either way it’s good to know we are not considered a part of their menu.