The killer whale's intelligence, trainability, striking appearance, playfulness in captivity and sheer size have made it a popular exhibit at aquariums and aquatic theme parks. Killer whales were taken from the coasts of British Columbia and Washington until 1976, and since then have generally been taken from Icelandic waters (50 in the five years to 1985). Since then, killer whales have been successfully bred in captivity, and captive wild-born whales are considerably rarer.
Orca
Fish-eating killer whales in the North Pacific have a complex but extremely stable system of social grouping. Unlike any other mammal species whose social structure is known, resident killer whales of both sexes live with their mothers for their entire lives. Therefore, killer whale societies are based around matrilines consisting of a single female (the matriarch) and her descendants. The sons and daughters of the matriarch form part of the line, as do the sons and daughters of those daughters. The average size of a matriline is nine animals.