Species guide
Killer whale
Orcinus orca
At a glance
Conservation, taxonomy and Madeira records reviewed . Review sources.
- Global IUCN conservation status
- Data Deficient — assessment published .
Global extinction risk is separate from sighting frequency in Madeira. Data Deficient means there is insufficient evidence to assess the risk; it does not mean the species is safe.
- Identification
- Rounded body, mostly black with a white patch behind each eye and flanks and white undersides, from throat to abdomen
- Big conical head and large paddle-shaped flippers
- Size
- Maximum length: 9.8 m
- Recorded occurrence in Madeira
- Reported on local trips, including June 2026.
- Madeira records and season
- No dependable seasonal window established by the cited records.
Identification and size summarize profile notes updated . Local records are past observations, not a prediction of sightings.
Read the identification notes ↓- Taxonomic authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Family
- Delphinidae
- Cetacean group
- Odontoceti
The Society for Marine Mammalogy retains Orcinus orca as one species with recognised subspecies. This profile and its IUCN category refer to the whole species, not a particular regional population. Taxonomy source.
Sightings in Madeira
The 2012 checklist documents killer whales in Madeira waters. Local sighting records must not be assigned the conservation status of a different regional population. Historical evidence.
Our June 2026 trip report lists this species. This is an operator observation, not a population estimate.
No dependable seasonal window established by the cited records. The months in individual reports should not be treated as the limits of a season.
ID characteristics
Rounded body, mostly black with a white patch behind each eye and flanks and white undersides, from throat to abdomen
Big conical head and large paddle-shaped flippers
Very tall dorsal fin centrally positioned in body length
Surface behaviour
Acrobactic and active at surface
Sometimes inquisitive and approachable
Often breaches, lobtails, flipper-slaps and spy-hops
Distribution
Worldwide, from parallels 80º North to 80º South
All oceans though most commonly in the polar regions
Social
In groups between 3 to 25 individuals
Diet
Fish, seals and some squid
Biometrics
Max length: 9.8 m
Adult weight: 2.9 to 9 ton
Blow
Bushy shaped and not very tall
Other languages common names
ENG - Orca, Great killer whale, Grampus
GER - Schwertwal
FRA - Orque, Épaulard
ESP - Orca, Ballena asesina
SWE - Späckhuggare
DAN - Spækhugger
ITA - Orca
NED - Orka, Zwaardwalvis
NOR - Spekkhoggar, Vagn, Staurkval
POL - Orka, Miecznik
POR - Orca, Baleia assassina
Review sources
Conservation, taxonomy, local occurrence and seasonality checked on . The assessment publication year is separate from this editorial review date. Identification, size, other biology notes and multilingual aliases are outside this review unless a specific source is cited alongside them.
- IUCN Red List: Orcinus orca — global species assessment, published 2017.
- Society for Marine Mammalogy: species and subspecies list (April 2026) — Scientific names, authorities, families and English names. Mysticeti and Odontoceti are treated as unranked groups.
- IUCN SSC Cetacean Specialist Group: Red List status of cetaceans — Global species categories cross-checked against the specialist group's overview, updated October 2025. Regional and subpopulation assessments are separate.
- IUCN Red List: killer whale assessment (2017) — Global Data Deficient assessment; this does not mean the species is secure.
- Freitas et al. (2012): New records of cetacean species for Madeira Archipelago with an updated checklist — Table 1 and species accounts distinguish sightings, catches and strandings. Record totals and last-record dates describe evidence available through December 2012.
The linked trip reports document operator observations. They do not independently confirm every identification or measure population size, abundance or the probability of a sighting.