Highly trainable, these beautiful creatures have controversially been featured in many aquarium shows, as well as blockbusters such as ‘Free Willy’ back in 1993. They have stable family groups of five to thirty, hunting together to bring down tasty prey that ranges from squid and fish, to seals and sea lions. They work together to tip animals resting on floating ice into the water, deliberately beach themselves to scare prey and even hunt other whales.

Killer whales are known to use advanced levels of communication with different dialects used by each group, passed down through the generations. They use echolocation, making noises that travel underwater, reflecting back the size and distance of any given object.

When it comes to movement, they can dive as deep as a hundred feet in search of prey, often swimming as fast as possible to the surface, breaching and making noise as they pierce the waters. They can also be seen slapping their tails and spy-hopping (poking their head out of the water to look around) which can be excellent to witness.