"Please write back and tell me how long Orca whales live."

Orca GIF obtained from the NOAA site for Orca whales.

Even though many readers of MidLink have asked many questions about whales, I don't believe that we've yet provided an answer to your specific question. I'm not an expert on whales, so it took awhile to track down the answer to your question, but one of my officers found the correct information in a book entitled, "The Ocean Almanac" by Robert Hendrickson. This book is sub- titled, "Being a Copius Compendium on Sea Creatures, Nautical Lore & Legend, Master Mariners, Naval Disasters, and Myriad Mysteries of the Deep" so it would be a very useful reference book for a variety of questions about the oceans.

The simple answer to your question is that Orcas, or killer whales (Grampus orca) live to between 30 and 40 years after birth. A female Orca will only produce one offspring at a time, and the mother carries the baby for about a year before it is born. At birth, the baby Orca is about half as long as its parent (adults grow to between 20 and 30 feet) and weighs at least 300 pounds - now that's some baby.

Orcas are the "undisputed monarch of the sea." I found a very appropriate quote in "The Ocean Almanac" ascribed to an old whaling captain, that describes the killer whale very well: "They [Orcas] leap clear out of the water and come down smack on the other whale's [smaller whale under attack by the Orcas] back with a thud that makes your boat shake. And after they beat the other whale out of its wits, they [Orcas] force its mouth open, then tear its tongue to shreds."

I hope that this information has answered your question about Orcas. So that the other readers of MidLink can share in our exchange, I would appreciate it if you would provide some very brief information about the school that you attend, and where you live. That way, we will be able to properly acknowledge you when your question and this answer are published in MidLink.

Please continue reading MidLink and follow our voyage as we make our final passage through the Pacific Ocean and the Panana Canal to return home to the U.S. in late January 1996.

Your Friend and Shipmate,
Captain Craig S. Nelson, NOAA
Commanding Officer
NOAA Ship MALCOLM BALDRIGE