{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.orcinus-orca","code":"thing-q26843","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q26843/","name":"Orcinus orca","alternateNames":["Captive killer whales"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.5","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.LIV"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"The orca or killer whale (Orcinus orca), the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family, a black-and-white toothed whale found in all oceans that lives in stable family groups and is an apex predator.","purpose":"Let an agent describe orcas, their ecotypes, behaviour, populations and protection, and point to wildlife-watching rules and authorities.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["The largest member of the oceanic dolphin family, and a toothed whale.","Ecotypes specialise in fish or marine mammals and rarely interbreed; some have been proposed as separate species or subspecies.","Individuals are identified by dorsal fin and saddle patch markings.","Social structure and vocal traditions vary between populations."],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"identification","name":"Identification","description":"Recognising orcas.","layers":[{"id":"species","name":"Species","description":"Field marks.","findings":[{"id":"field-marks","name":"Field marks","description":"Patches and fin shape.","questions":[{"text":"Which features confirm an orca?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Could it be another species?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"individuals-and-ecotypes","name":"Individuals and ecotypes","description":"Photo-ID and ecotype.","findings":[{"id":"individual-id","name":"Individual ID","description":"Catalogue and ecotype.","questions":[{"text":"Which individual or pod is this?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which ecotype does it belong to?","kind":"definition"}]}]}]},{"id":"biology","name":"Biology","description":"How orcas live.","layers":[{"id":"social-life","name":"Social life","description":"Pods and matrilines.","findings":[{"id":"social-structure","name":"Social structure","description":"Group composition.","questions":[{"text":"How is the group structured?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"How stable is it?","kind":"definition"}]}]},{"id":"diet","name":"Diet","description":"Prey by ecotype.","findings":[{"id":"diet","name":"Diet","description":"Main prey.","questions":[{"text":"What does this population eat?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"How has prey availability changed?","kind":"measurement"}]}]}]},{"id":"populations","name":"Populations","description":"Numbers and trends.","layers":[{"id":"population-size","name":"Population size","description":"Counts and trends.","findings":[{"id":"population-estimate","name":"Population estimate","description":"Count, year, method.","questions":[{"text":"How many animals are in this population, by which survey?","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Is it growing or declining?","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"threats","name":"Threats","description":"Main pressures.","findings":[{"id":"threat","name":"Threat","description":"Prey, pollution, noise.","questions":[{"text":"Which threats affect this population?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which evidence supports that?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"protection-and-people","name":"Protection and people","description":"Law and encounters.","layers":[{"id":"legal-protection","name":"Legal protection","description":"Listings and laws.","findings":[{"id":"protection-status","name":"Protection status","description":"Listings by jurisdiction.","questions":[{"text":"Which protection applies here?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which authority enforces it?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"encounters","name":"Encounters","description":"Watching and captivity.","findings":[{"id":"encounter-rules","name":"Encounter rules","description":"Distance and conduct rules.","questions":[{"text":"Which distance rules apply to boats here?","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"Where are captive orcas kept, under which rules?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["describe biology and status from sources","explain watching rules"],"mustNot":["advise approaching orcas closer than legal limits","give locations to harass animals","present one population's status as the species status"],"requiresHuman":["reports of stranded or entangled animals, which go to rescue networks"]},"ethics":{"considerations":["animal welfare in captivity","conservation of small populations"],"affectedParties":["orca populations","coastal communities"]},"owners":{"steward":"nobody; a wild species protected by states and conventions","roles":[],"masterSystems":["IUCN Red List","regional photo-identification catalogues"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q144144","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"oceanic dolphin","type":"related","note":"family Delphinidae"},{"target":"fish and marine mammals","type":"related","note":"depending on ecotype"},{"target":"false killer whale","type":"related","note":"a different species"},{"target":"CITES","type":"related","note":"Appendix II"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.orcinus-orca","Wikidata: Q26843 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q26843)","scientific name: Orcinus orca (Linnaeus, 1758)","photo-identification catalogue ID: catalogue-specific for individual orcas"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["adult length: 5-9 m - males larger; exceptional males up to about 10 m","adult mass: 2-6 t - large males can exceed this"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["White eye patch and grey saddle patch","Tall dorsal fin up to about 1.8 m in adult males","Travels in groups","A large dolphin with black upper body, white underside, white eye patch and grey saddle patch; males have a tall upright dorsal fin."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["identify an orca and its ecotype in general terms","describe behaviour and diet","state protection status from authoritative sources","point to responsible whale-watching rules"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Prey depletion","Pollution with persistent chemicals","Vessel noise and disturbance","Welfare concerns in captivity"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["CITES Appendix II","National protection, such as the US Endangered Species Act listing of the Southern Resident population","Whale-watching distance rules in many countries","IUCN Red List status (a conservation assessment, not law): Data Deficient globally, 2017"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["North Pacific resident (fish-eating) ecotype","Bigg's or transient (mammal-eating) ecotype","offshore ecotype","Southern Ocean types A, B1, B2, C and D (D subantarctic)","provisional subspecies O. orca ater and O. orca rectipinnus (2026 list)"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Q26843","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q26843","note":"identity of the registry item, labels and sitelinks"},{"title":"Orca","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orca","note":"general description of the subject"},{"title":"Killer Whale","url":"https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/killer-whale","note":"biology and protection"},{"title":"List of Marine Mammal Species and Subspecies","url":"https://marinemammalscience.org/science-and-publications/list-marine-mammal-species-subspecies/","note":"current taxonomy"},{"title":"Killer whale ecotypes","url":"https://iwc.int/management-and-conservation/international-research-programmes/sorp/killer-whale-ecotypes","note":"Antarctic ecotypes"},{"title":"Orcinus orca (Killer Whale)","url":"https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T15421A50368125.en","note":"global status"}],"openQuestions":["Taxonomy is under revision; how should proposed species and subspecies be modelled?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q26843/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q26843/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-10-21T19:29:59Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-21T19:36:44+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 5 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}