e lower jaw. A killer whale may also receive sound through soft tissue and bone surrounding the ear.Eyesight. Killer whales also have acute eyesight both in and out of the water. Glands at the inner corners of the eye sockets secrete and oily, jellylike mucus that lubricates the eyes, washes away foreign particles, and helps streamline the eyes as the whale swims. This tearlike film also protects the eyes from infective organisms.Touch. Features of the brain indicate that a killer whales sense of touch is well-developed. Their skin is also sensitive to the touch as scientists have discovered.Taste. There is very little information about the sense of taste in a killer whale. It has been found that they do have taste buds, but they haven't been well studied.Smell. Olfactory lobes of the brain and olfactory nerves are absent in all toothed whales which indicates that they have no sense of smell at all. They rely fully on hearing and their eyesight to seek prey.Adaptations For The Environment:Swimming. Swimming speed and duration are closely tied: high-speed swimming may last only seconds while low-speed swimming may last indefinitely. Killer whales are among the fastest swimming marine mammals and can swim speeds of up to 30 mph, but they usually cruise at much slower speeds, between two and six mph.Diving. Killer whales generally dive to depths of about 100 to 200 feet. The deepest dive under experimental conditions is to about 900 feet.When diving, killer whales usually surface about every four to five minutes. At the surface they take two to five breaths at five to ten second intervals before another dive.Respiration. A killer whale breaths through a single blowhole on the dorsal surface of its head. The whale holds its breath while below water and at the surface contracts its blowhole to breath.Behavior:Social Structure. Killer whales live in groups called pods. They are long-term social units that usually consists of males, females, a...
