this post was submitted on 07 Nov 2024
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[–] morphballganon@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

"Orca whale" is a misnomer. Same with Killer whale. They are not whales. The nickname is a mistranslation of whale killer because Orcas kill whales.

[–] palordrolap@fedia.io 28 points 2 weeks ago

Orcas are in the dolphin family which is a branch of the whale family, specifically those with teeth rather than baleen. Compare how humans are in the ape family which is a branch of the primate family, specifically those that are less arboreal and lack tails. If we can say humans are primates, we can definitely say that orcas are whales.

[–] Usernameblankface@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Aren't they porpoises? I mean, I think they're related to dolphins.

[–] morphballganon@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

Google says they're neither, so I've edited the above fyi. Thanks!

[–] LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Orcas are actually moose. You see there are 2 sexes in the Meese family. The Male have legs and horns and truck around on land, the Women have flippers and swim around the ocean. Moose all have 1 thing in common, it's a fetish for being eaten. The Orcas eat the Moose, consuming their sperm and it gets pushed out towards the egg prior to working it's way out of the esophagus into to the stomach.

/The f did I just write

[–] egrets@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I'm yet to see a convincing, authoritative historical source on the "whale killer" factoid. Follow the trail on asesina-ballenas and Basque fishermen and you get nowhere.