Does the killer whale?

Question

Have the same crushing bite force as a great white shark?

I have always assumed they have a weak bite, because they are too friendly, have blunt teeth and smaller bite radius than a great white?

Also how does it's bite compare to that of the saltwater crocodile, having the strongest crushing bite force out of all the animals in the world?

Answer 1

Sharks teeth are razor sharp enabling them to tear chucks of flesh off of their prey.  Orcas feed on seal, sea lions and things that they can grasp in their mouth and crush.

I don't think there would be much difference between being crushed by an Orca vs. a crocodile.  Crushed is crushed.

Answer 2

Where did you get such nonsense?!  Killer whales are called killer whales for a reason, silly!  They've been known to rush up onto beaches on incoming waves and snag a large seal or two for a snack.  I'm not sure they have a greater bite force than great whites or saltwater crocodiles, because they are larger and have less need to overpower their prey, most commonly the leopard seal, a fierce predator in its own right.  They're also mammals (related to dolphins), their teeth are quite sharp, and they are ANYTHING but friendly in the wild.  They've even been known to eat the odd unwary human.  

As to comparing a cross-species bite force, they don't always necessarily correlate, and often are subject to the mass of the animal in question in relation to the force exerted by the animal's bite...check out the hyena while you're at it...I believe it may even trump the saltwater crocodile based on the mass of the animal itself.  I could be quite mistaken, and I wouldn't quote me on that.

Answer 3

I am not sure about the details on how the bite forces compare, however, I believe the sharks will be higher, due to increased radius and I have found some references suggesting that bite forces in odontocetes-toothed whales- are generally quite weak.

Also, taking into consideration the different hunting strategies, I would think that orcas do not need a bite force as strong as that of a Great White. For one thing, orcas hunting marine mammals- the prey you would think they would require a strong bite force for- hunt in pods, they cooperate. While there is some theories that great whites may hunt in pairs, in general, observations suggest that they hunt alone, so it is by far more important for them to deliver a disabling bite at the first contact with the prey than with a pod of orcas where the chances of losing the prey, even if it is not disabled with the first bite, are smaller due to heightened vigilance. With large prey items it may be more important for the shark to get a bite of the animal- rather than nothing at all if it gets away- while orcas hunting large prey like sperm whales will again have the group advantage and can go for a wound and wait approach.

What I really wanted to point out that while orcas or any other wild animal should never be considered 'friendly' but at the best curious and are indeed magnificent predators that they've been 'known to eat the odd unwary human' is complete and utter rubbish.  There are only about 2 documented reports of orca attacks on people in the wild, neither of which resulted in death, in fact there are by far more attacks in captivity, of which at least one resulted in death, however the body remained untouched and was not eaten either.

Answer 4

I agree with sparrow on this one.  Also, one time when someone from Greenpeace gave me some lip for calling the Killer Whale by that name, he told me to call it Orca because "Killer Whale" gives it a "bad reputation".  I looked up "Orca" and found it to be an Indian or Inuit name that meant something like "demon from the lowest depth of h**l" or some such definition.