Whales

False killer whale

Pseudorca crassidens

False killer whales are powerful, highly social ocean dolphins that sometimes travel in mixed groups with other whales and dolphins.

Near ThreatenedIn 41 Atlas countries

Near Threatened (IUCN, 2018) means it is close to becoming threatened.

False killer whale surging through blue water off Rota, Mariana Islands — Photo: NOAA on Unsplash

False killer whale leaping out of the ocean — Photo: Jan Ebr & Ivana Ebrová, iNaturalist, CC BY

Pod of false killer whales swimming underwater — Photo: tunicatedreamz, iNaturalist, CC BY

False killer whale leaping off the Azores coast — Photo: Daniel Benák, iNaturalist, CC BY

Group of false killer whales surfacing together — Photo: Tony King, iNaturalist, CC BY

False killer whale surfacing with dorsal fin visible — Photo: Pablo, iNaturalist, CC BY

False killer whale breaching near the Azores — Photo: Daniel Benák, iNaturalist, CC BY

False killer whale surfacing in open water — Photo: Hugo Hulsberg, iNaturalist, CC0

Photos show the species, not always the places on this page.

Length

Females up to about 4.9 m (16 ft); males nearly 6.1 m (20 ft)

Weight

Up to about 1,360 kg (3,000 lb)

Next to a person

Adults can be about 3 times a person's height and weigh well over a tonne

What it eats

Mainly fish and squid, including large ocean fish in some regions.

Around people

Defensive if pressured

How it lives

Despite its name, the false killer whale is a highly social ocean dolphin. Group members form strong bonds that last for years, and small groups can belong to much larger networks. It eats mainly fish and squid, and individuals sometimes share their catch.

Populations

How populations are organised and how they behave differs from region to region. In Hawaiʻi, one small island population of about 140 whales is listed as endangered under US law, but this is not the status of the whole species. In Timor-Leste, a 2008 survey recorded false killer whales in mixed groups with other species; how often they appear now is unknown.

Meet it respectfully

These are large, powerful wild predators. Do not approach, feed, touch or chase them, never split a group, and do not try to start an interaction. Watch slowly from a boat moving alongside. If they come close, slow down and let the animals choose how near to come.

Fun fact

Tap the bulb to light it up.

Sources for this page

Facts checked 26 September 2026. Photos: Unsplash licence, or Creative Commons as shown on each photo.

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