Training Ikaika the Killer Whale to Perform a New Behavior During an Orca Encounter
16 Video Views·Jul 14, 2026
Ikaika learning how to do a slideout on his side during the Orca Encounter presentation. Really love that they did this during this segment of the show. He couldn't get it the first times around but you could see his wheels spinning.
AI GeneratedMay contain errors
With a well-defined social structure, an orca pod is always led by a female.
Though just half the size of her male counterpart, she is in charge.
It's all about attitude, not size.
Because they live and work as a group, orcas need to communicate with sounds and body language.
Orcas use clicks for echolocation or navigation.
Whistles to socialize in the pod.
For group coordinating and hunting.
Vocal development studies here at SeaWorld show that early on calves learned vocalization from their mothers.
But as they grow, they learn from others close to them as well.
This is a bottlenose dolphin call that Shuka learned and even taught other killer whales here at SeaWorld.
In fact, orcas are the largest members of the dolphin family.
Vocalization to communicate all the time.
Animal killer whales use body language as a form of communication.
A pectoral flap might be used to show dominance or to get noticed.
For example, a mother may use a pectoral flap to get her calf's attention.