How do killer whales care for their young?

 Orca pods have a complex social structure similar to elephants in that they are matriarchal in structure, and the female members are part of the pod for life. the males move between pods within a regional group.

When young are born they are helped in swimming to the surface to breath and given piggy back rides to help them cover longer distances with the pod. They nurse on milk for up to two years. Because they don’t have lips, the female basically sprays milk into the babies mouth.

Each pod has a distinct culture, including unique language dialects, migration patterns and hunting tactics. This forms a big part of how young Orcas are cared for. The older members of the pod spend a great deal of time passing the culture on. The young are presented with injured prey to learn to kill, for example, and shown where traditional rubbing spots are (Orcas use certain underwater rocks to exfoliate their skin, some as part of a migratory route, some in a residence area depending on the culture) They also play with the young and discipline them through verbal signals and tail slapping, either the surface of the water or the young whale, depending on the severity of the infraction.