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Killer whales are beautiful mammals with a very distinct black and white color pattern. A killer whale is enormous in size, reaching up to 32 feet in length and weighing more than 16,500 pounds. These whales have a long life span of up to 50 to 60 years. The endangered killer whales are different from most whales because they are killers. They consume a diet of harbor seals, sea lions, baleen whales, and other mammals of that size. They attack and kill larger food, which is unique from most whales.
Unlike other whales, the killer whale lives in a community (pod) of other killer whales in numbers of 40-50, although the average size of a pod is only about 15. Killer whales are very social, which is one reason they live in large numbers.
These whales often find the coastal waters of higher altitudes home, but can travel to all areas of the world. They tend to stray from tropical waters. Although these whales call all the oceans of the world home, they are most often found in the North Pacific, Arctic, and Antarctica.