🐋 Humpback whale vs Orca 🐳
The humpback whale is about twice as long as the orca. The orca is about twice as fast as the humpback whale. The humpback whale weighs about 5 times as much as the orca.
| Row | 🐋 Humpback whale | 🐳 Orca |
|---|---|---|
| Top speed The orca is about twice as fast as the humpback whale. | 16 mph26 km/h1 | 35 mph56 km/h2 |
| Weight The humpback whale weighs about 5 times as much as the orca. | 25 to 35 tons23 to 32 tonnes3 | 4 to 8 tons3.6 to 7.3 tonnes4 |
| Lives The humpback whale usually lives about twice as long as the orca. | 80 to 90 years80 to 90 years5 | 30 to 50 years30 to 50 years4 |
| Eats The humpback whale eats tiny floating sea life; the orca eats meat. | krill and small fish | fish such as salmon, and seals, depending on the pod |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | every ocean, traveling between cold feeding waters and warm waters where calves are born | every ocean, from the icy poles to warm seas |
Which one? Humpback whale or orca
🏁 Who would win the race?
The orca gets to the tree first. Over a short dash it is about twice as fast as the humpback whale.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed.
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The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/humpback-whale-vs-orca
Where these numbers come from
- National Park Service, checked 30 October 2026.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service, Kenai Fjords National Park, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service, Kenai Fjords National Park, checked 30 October 2026.
- NOAA Fisheries, checked 30 October 2026.