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{{Subspeciesbox
| fossil_range      = {{fossil range|0.08|Recent|~80 [[Year#SI_prefix_multipliers|Ka]]–Recent}}
| name              = Resident orca
| image             = SRKW breaching (cropped).jpg
| image_caption     = Southern resident orca (J16 "Slick") breaching near [[San Juan Island]], [[Washington (state)|Washingtom]]
| image_alt         = Two killer whales jump above the sea surface, showing their black, white and grey colouration. The closer whale is upright and viewed from the side, while the other whale is arching backward to display its
| status            = LE
| status_system     = ESA
| status_ref        = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Reeves|first1= R. |author2=Pitman|first2= R. L.|author3=Ford|first3= J. K. B. |date=2017 |title=''Orcinus orca'' |volume=2017 |page=e.T15421A50368125 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T15421A50368125.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref></br>(Southern residents)
| status2           = T
| status2_system    = COSEWIC
| status2_ref       = <ref name = "CITES">{{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org|archive-date=December 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205014647/https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|url-status=live}}</ref></br>(Northern residents)
| genus             = Orcinus
| species           = orca
| species_link      = Orca
| subspecies        = ater
| authority         = [[Edward Drinker Cope|Cope]] in [[Charles Melville Scammon|Scammon]], 1869
| range_map         = Orcinus ater range raster.png
| range_map_alt     = A map of the Northern Pacific showing the range of Resident orcas.
| range_map_caption = {{legend2|#B1DCFD|''O. o. ater'' [[Cosmopolitan distribution|range]]|outline=gray}}
| synonyms          = *''Orca ater'' <small>[[Edward Drinker Cope|Cope]] in [[Charles Melville Scammon|Scammon]], 1869</small>
}}

The '''resident orca''' ('''''Orcinus orca ater'''''), or '''resident killer whale''' is a provisional [[subspecies]] and proposed [[species]] of [[orca]]. They are endemic to the inshore and [[continental shelf]] waters of the [[North Pacific]], from [[Oregon]] to northern [[Japan]], but may occasionally appear in southern waters up to [[Monterey Bay]], [[California]]. Like other living orcas, resident orcas are recognizable for their black-and-white patterned body, but can be visually distinguished from the coexisting [[Bigg's orca]] by their smaller gracile bodies, rounded dorsal fins, and narrower and variably patterned markings behind the dorsal fin ("saddle patches"). Though their uniqueness was recognized since the 1970s, scientists originally classified resident orcas as an [[ecotype]] of the orca [[type species]] (''Orcinus orca''). The group was formally proposed in a 2024 review to be a new species. However, the [[Society for Marine Mammalogy]], the leading authority on cetacean [[taxonomy]], opted to recognize them as provisional subspecies on account of deficient comparative studies with other orcas worldwide.

==Classification by social structure==
The distinct and stable social structures of resident orcas are an essential component of their ecology. Scientists classify groups based on these structures.
===Social units===
The basic social unit of the resident orca is the ''[[Matrilineality|matriline]]''. This is formed by a [[matriarch]] and her descendants of all generations. Matrilines can split apart over time, with some females forming their own matrilines. Matrilines can group together to form a ''pod'', which is ongoing and stable in membership. Calves are born into the pod of their mother and may remain in it for the rest of their lives. Pods group to form ''clans'', which are marked by a unique shared dialect of acoustic calls that is not shared with other clans. Multiple clans may nevertheless consistently associate with one other to form an insular ''community''.  Resident orcas can be divided into at least three distinct communities: ''northern'', ''southern'' and ''southern Alaskan''.

===Structure by community===
====Southern residents====
;Community
: Southern Resident orca community
;Clans
: J Clan
;Pods
: J Pod ''(25 members)''{{efn|Updated for January 2024 death of J60}}
: K Pod ''(15 members)''{{efn|Updated for 2023 death of K34}}
: L Pod ''(34 members)''
;Matrilines
Note that in several matrilines the matriarch is absent because deceased; nonetheless her descendants continue to associate as a group. Date of census is January 1, 2024.

J11s: J27, J31, J39, J56

J14s: J37, J40, J45, J49, J59

J16s: J16, J26, J36, J42

J17s: J35, J44, J46, J47, J53, J57

J19s: J19, J41, J51, J58

J22s: J22, J38

K12s: K12, K22, K33, K37, K43

K13s: K20, K27, K38, K45

K14s: K14, K26, K36, K42

K16s: K16, K35

L4s: L55, L82, L86, L103, L106, L109, L116, L118, L123, L125

L11s: L77, L94, L113, L119, L121, L124, L126, L127

L22s: L22, L85 (1st cousin), L87 (brother)

L25: L25, the oldest southern resident, has no surviving close relatives since the death of the captive southern resident [[Tokitae]] aka Lolita, probably a member of her matriline. L25 travels with the L22s and L11s.

L47s: L83, L91, L110, L115, L122

L54s: L54, L108, L117, plus the unrelated L88 who is an adult male born in 1993 with no living close relatives and who always travels with the L54s.

L72s: L72, L105

L90: L90 is an adult female born 1993 who has no living close relatives. She associates with the L47s.<ref name="CWRIdentification">{{cite web |title=Orca Identification |url=https://www.whaleresearch.com/orca-id |website=Center for Whale Research |access-date=July 24, 2023}}</ref><ref name="CWR2022Encounters">{{cite web |title=2022 Encounters |url=https://www.whaleresearch.com/2022encounters |website=Center for Whale Research |access-date=8 December 2022}}</ref>

====Northern residents====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
!width="150"|Pod
!width="150"|Matrilines
!width="150"|Individuals
!width="150"|Notable members
!width="200"|Notes
|-
|- style="background:#ddd;"
|colspan="5"|'''A Clan'''
|-
|[[A1 Pod|A1]]
|3
|20
|Stubbs (A1)*, Nicola (A2)*, [[A30 matriline|Tsitika]] (A30)*
|[[A1 Pod|See main article]]
|-
|[[A4 pod|A4]]
|3
|15
|Yakat (A11)*, Kelsy (A24), Siwiti (A48)*, [[Springer (orca)|Springer (A73)]]
|[[A4 pod|See main article]]
|-
|[[A5 pod|A5]]
|3
|10
|Top Notch (A5)*, Eve (A9)*, Sharky (A25)*, [[Corky (killer whale)|Corky]] (A16)
|[[A5 pod|See main article]]
|-
|B1
|1
|6
|Hooker (B1)*
|Used to have a large proportion of males
|-
|C1
|2
|16
|[[Namu (orca)|Namu]] (C1)*
|Its two matrilines most often travel separately
|-
|D1
|2
|12
|Wrap Fin (D1)*
|Its two matrilines are most often encountered together
|-
|H1
|1
|5
|
|Has been encountered infrequently
|-
|I1
|1
|18
|
|Has been encountered very infrequently
|-

|I2
|1
|3
|
|Has been encountered very infrequently
|-
|I18
|2
|24
|
|
|-
|- style="background:#ddd;"
|colspan="5"|'''G Clan'''
|-
|G1
|4
|34
|
|
|-
|G12
|2
|16
|
|
|-
|I11
|2
|26
|
|
|-
|I31
|2
|10
|
|
|-
|- style="background:#ddd;"
|colspan="5"|'''R Clan'''
|-
|R1
|4
|38
|
|Spans a record five generations
|-
|W1
|1
|4
|
|Was quickly found to be a dying matriline due to the only female and matriarch, W3 ""Nebohannah", being post-reproductive. Died out in 2018 when the last member, Nebohannah herself, was declared deceased
|}
Asterisk indicates deceased member.

==Range and habitat==
The southern residents have been seen off the coast of California, [[Oregon]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], and [[Vancouver Island]], [[British Columbia]]. Historic sightings  and more recent data from satellite-tagged individuals show frequent use of coastal waters as far south as [[Monterey Bay]], California in the winter and early spring. Members of L pod have been seen as far north as southeast Alaska. During the late spring through fall, the southern residents tend to travel around the inland waterways of [[Puget Sound]], the [[Strait of Juan de Fuca]], and southern [[Georgia Strait]] - an area known as the [[Salish Sea]].<ref name="NMFS">{{cite web |url=http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/cetaceans/killerwhale.htm |title=Killer Whale (''Orcinus orca'') |date=June 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716193655/http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/cetaceans/killerwhale.htm |archive-date=July 16, 2014|url-status=dead |publisher=NOAA Fisheries: Office of Protected Resources}}</ref> More information is now available about their range and movements during the winter months, which appears to follow the return of [[Chinook salmon]] to major rivers in California and North America's [[Pacific Northwest]] region.

The northern residents have been seen as far south as [[Grays_Harbor|Grays Harbor, Washington]] and as far north as [[Glacier_Bay_National_Park_and_Preserve|Glacier Bay, Alaska]].  From spring until mid-summer, the Northern residents are commonly found in [[Chatham Sound]] near the BC–Alaska ocean border and in [[Caamaño Sound]] between [[Haida Gwaii]] and the BC mainland.  From June until October, they are commonly found in [[Johnstone Strait]].<ref name="genetics"/>  The habitat of the Northern residents overlaps with the Southern residents; however, the two types of orcas have never been observed together. Members of A clan have been the most commonly sighted whales off northeastern Vancouver Island, whereas G clan is most commonly sighted off the west coast of Vancouver Island, and members of R clan are most commonly sighted in the northern parts of the community's range.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 1, 2004 |title=Recovery Strategy for the Northern and Southern Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) in Canada |url=https://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/document/doc1341a/p1_e.cfm#fig1}}</ref>

Southern Alaskan resident orcas are distributed from [[southeastern Alaska]] to the [[Kodiak Archipelago]] and number over 700 individuals. These whales consist of two interbreeding clans whose ranges overlap.<ref>{{cite journal|author=O Matkin, Craig|year=2013|title=Life history and population dynamics of southern Alaska resident killer whales (''Orcinus orca'')|journal=Marine Mammal Science|volume=30|issue=2|pages=460–479|doi= 10.1111/mms.12049}}</ref>

==Diet==
Resident orcas are exclusively fish-eating. From visual sources, necropsy, and feces collection, the following food preferences have been reported for southern residents:<ref name="NOAA"/>
*'''Salmon 97%'''
*:[[Chinook salmon|Chinook]] (78% in late spring and fall)
*:[[Chum salmon|Chum]] (11%, more so in fall)
*:[[Coho]] (5%)
*:[[Steelhead]] (2%)
*:[[Sockeye]] (1%)
*'''Other fish 3%'''
*:e.g. [[Pacific herring]] and [[quillback rockfish]]
While Chinook are less abundant than other salmon, they are larger and have a high fat content, both of which make them apparently preferable to other species.{{sfn|Ford, Ellis & Balcomb|2000|page=19}}

Although resident orcas are often in the vicinity of seals and porpoises, which are eaten by Bigg's orcas, they typically ignore them. Even when on rare occasions they attack them, they do not eat them—the attacks are harassment or sport.{{sfn|Ford, Ellis & Balcomb|2000|page=19}}

==Vocalization==
Orca vocal production is classified in three categories: clicks, whistles, and pulsed calls. Clicks made by [[toothed whale]]s are very brief vocal sounds produced in rapid series for [[Animal echolocation|echolocation]].

"Whistles are non-pulsed continuous signals with much simpler harmonic structure"<ref name="Souhaut"/> than pulsed calls. Whistling is a minor component of southern resident orca vocalizations, "whereas whistles are the primary social vocalization among the majority of [[Delphinidae]] species."<ref name="Souhaut">{{cite journal |author1=Souhaut M |author2=Shields MW |title=Stereotyped whistles in southern resident killer whales |journal=Aquatic Biology |date=2021 |volume=9 |pages=e12085 |publisher=[[PeerJ]]|doi=10.7717/peerj.12085 |pmid=34532160 |pmc=8404572 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Janik & Slater, 1998">{{cite journal |author1=Vincent M Janik |author2=Peter J.B Slater |title=Context-specific use suggests that bottlenose dolphin signature whistles are cohesion calls |journal=Animal Behaviour |publisher=[[Elsevier]] Ltd. |date=1998 |volume=56 |issue=4 |pages=829–838 |doi=10.1006/anbe.1998.0881 |pmid=9790693 |s2cid=32367435 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347298908818 |issn=0003-3472}}</ref>

The pulsed calls of orcas may sound to humans like forms of speech, music, or wordless squeals,{{sfn|Ford, Ellis & Balcomb|2000|page=21}}{{sfn|Safina|2015|page=308}} "with distinct tonal qualities and harmonic structure. These calls, typically 0.5–1.5 s in duration, are the primary social vocalization of killer whales."<ref name="Souhaut"/> "By varying the timbre and frequency structure of the calls, the whales can generate a variety of signals...Most calls contain sudden shifts or rapid sweeps in pitch, which give them distinctive qualities recognizable over distance and background noise," wrote the researchers.{{sfn|Ford, Ellis & Balcomb|2000|page=96}}

===Echolocation===
[[File:Killer whale echolocation.jpg|thumb|alt=This illustration of echolocation by Uko Gorter shows a killer whale sending out sound waves to locate prey, and the sound echoes that bounce back to the whale from a salmon|Schematic illustration of echolocation pathway in an orca]]Echolocation in an orca was first described by [[William E. Schevill]] and William A. Watkins in their study of the J Pod orca [[#Moby Doll|Moby Doll]].{{sfn|Schevill & Watkins|1966|pages=72-74}}

The orca produces vocalizations inside the blowhole, its nose. Echolocation clicks are anatomically reflected forwards, and focused and directed by fats in the [[melon (cetacean)|melon]].<ref name="Cranford, 2000">{{cite book | vauthors = Cranford TW | chapter = In Search of Impulse Sound Sources in Odontocetes | date = 2000 | title = Hearing by Whales and Dolphins | series = Springer Handbook of Auditory Research series | volume = 12 | pages = 109–155 | veditors = Au WW, Popper AN, Fay RR | publisher = Springer | location = New York | doi = 10.1007/978-1-4612-1150-1_3 | isbn = 978-1-4612-7024-9 }}</ref> The orca's anatomy is adapted to hearing underwater rather than in air. Incoming sounds, including echoes, are collected by the lower [[mandible#Other vertebrates|mandible]], which functions as the orca's [[outer ear]]. The remaining parts of the two ears, in the [[auditory bullae]], are connected to the rear of the lower mandible. Inside the lower mandible, sound travels through wide fat pads acting as [[ear canal]]s, reaching the orca's version of [[eardrum]]s, bony tympanic plates, which vibrate in response. From there, sound data are transmitted through the middle and inner ears to the brain, which is able to resolve echoes into information.<ref name="Nummela et al., 2007">{{cite journal |last1=Nummela |first1=Sirpa |last2=Thewissen |first2=J.G.M. |last3=Bajpai |first3=Sunil |last4=Hussain |first4=Taseer |last5=Kumar |first5=Kishor |title=Sound transmission in archaic and modern whales: Anatomical adaptations for underwater hearing |journal=[[The Anatomical Record]] |date=2007 |volume=290 |issue=6 |pages=716–733 |doi=10.1002/ar.20528|pmid=17516434 |s2cid=12140889 }}</ref>
{{further|Animal echolocation#Mechanics of echolocation in whales}}

==References==
{{reflist}}