droplets.An interesting aspect of whales is that they utilize most of the five senses that humans use. The five senses are hearing, seeing, smelling, touching, and talking. Killer whales have no sense of smell and have poor eyesight. They have well-developed senses of touch and hearing. “Their keen hearing provides them with information about their surroundings.” (International Experts, Encyclopedia survey, 1988) They can hear a wide range of sounds, including low-and high-pitched sounds that are beyond the range of human hearing. They can also tell from what direction a sound is coming from. Killer whales produce sounds within the nasal sac system, a series of air-filled pouches around the blowhole. They locate underwater objects by listening for echoes produced when the objects reflect the sounds. They determine the distance and the direction of an object through the echoes. This is called echolocation. When researching any type of animal, it is also worth knowing the life span of the animal being researched. Knowing the life span of killer whales is useful information that a researcher can later use. Knowing the life span of the killer whale helps the researcher understand how the killer whale lives and how long it lives. The life span of killer whales is 50+ years for the males and 80+ years for the females.Human hunters account for many of the deaths. Except for people, whales have no natural enemies. Most of the whales that escape the hunter's harpoon live to old age and die of natural causes. Some orcas die after stranding themselves on a beach. In some cases, a whale swims ashore alone. In other cases, an entire pod of whales becomes stranded. People often return beached whales to the sea, but most swim back onto the beach. They cannot live long out of the water. They may overheat, become crushed by their own weight, or drown when the tide covers their blowholes. Another important aspect worth ...
