[fr_freak]

Those are killer dolphins, not whales. They are from the dolphin family.

Orcas are dolphins, but they have been nicknamed "killer whales" for a very long time, most likely since before it was determined that they were, in fact, in the dolphin family.

[Paal Gulli]

"Orcas are dolphins, but they have been nicknamed "killer whales" for a very long time, most likely since before it was determined that they were, in fact, in the dolphin family. "

The name "killer whales" has nothing to do with a failure to recognize they're actually dolphins, it has to do with the fact that THEY KILL WHALES. They gang up on card-carrying whales and work in teams biting them by the pectoral fins and holding them underwater until they drown.