The Orca
Show notes
What if you met a potential friend ... and they couldn’t understand a word you said?
Off the coast of Vancouver Island, a young orca named Kai has never met a stranger. He’ll race a dolphin, splash a sea lion, and try to turn just about anyone into a new friend. So when another pod of orcas swims into his family’s waters, Kai can hardly contain himself.
A whole pod of new friends?
Game. On.
But when Kai races over to introduce himself, something strange happens. The other young orcas just stare at him. His invitations to race go nowhere. His spectacular leap gets nothing but puzzled looks. Kai is sure they don’t want to play, until his grandfather shares something surprising about the way orca families communicate.
The story may be make-believe, but the science behind it is real. In this episode, kids will get to know the orca and learn:
- How orcas use echolocation to understand what’s around them
- Why their black-and-white countershading can help them blend into the ocean
- How orca pods work together to hunt
- How different orca families can have their own dialects, with calls passed from one generation to the next
Special thanks to Tamara Kelley from the Orca Conservancy for joining us in this episode! Learn more about their work and how to take action at: orcaconservancy.org/take-action
Wild and Kind Kids blends original animal stories with real science to help curious kids understand not just what animals do, but why. This screen-free science podcast for kids ages 3–8 is made for family listening, car rides, homeschool science, classrooms, or a quiet story before bed.
Keep exploring:
- Learn how to take action for orcas with the Orca Conservancy
- Download our orca coloring sheet
- Join our Wild and Kind Kids Club for free recommended readings and episode extenders
- Request an animal for a future episode
- Follow us on Instagram for bonus facts and footage
Resources we love:
- Hear Orcas (Orca Conservation Research)
- Top 10 Facts about Orcas (WWF)
- Killer Whale Facts! (National Geographic Kids)
- How echolocation lets animals - and some humans - navigate by sound (National Geographic)
- Whale Talk: Orca Communication and Dialect (Canadian Network for Ocean Education)