Who’s the most deadly whale of all? One hint, it’s not the killer whale!

I’m Sunny Rice for the Petersburg Marine Mammal Center.

Plenty of confusion surrounds the name “killer whale.” First of all, it isn’t even truly a whale. Instead, it’s the largest dolphin. So why isn’t it called “killer dolphin?”

The name “killer whale” is derived from 18th century Basque whalers who watched this animal attack and kill large whales. The Basques named it “asesina ballena” which means, “whale assassin” or “whale killer.” Somehow the translation was botched and the animal became known as the “killer whale,” a name that sounds like it was dreamed up by a horror movie producer. Not surprisingly, Hollywood took advantage of the name, with several forgettable “B” movies featuring rampaging killer whales unleashing their wrath on humans.

To complicate matters even more, killer whales are commonly called orcas. Ancient Romans gave them the name “orca,” which simply means “a kind of whale.” The meaning of their scientific name “Orcinus orca” isn’t much better than killer whale. “Orcinus” means, “belonging to the realms of the dead” or more succinctly, “from hell,” a reference to its predatory nature. With this kind of naming logic, it’s a wonder we didn’t end up with animals named “killer wolf” or “killer lion.” I mean, predators need to eat, but you don’t have to rub it in! Even though there has never been a documented fatal attack on a human by a wild killer whale, even the U.S. Navy couldn’t resist jumping on the “killer” bandwagon. Their 1973 Diving Manual warned that killer whales were quote “extremely ferocious” and “will attack human beings at every opportunity.”

So, which is the most deadly whale? Some might argue it’s the sperm whale, but that is a tale for another time.