Type D Killer Whale (Wild Safari Sealife by Safari Ltd.)

Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972

Practically everyone has heard of the killer whale or orca (Orcinus orca), but probably not about the many different types that known to roam the world’s oceans. Perhaps the most mysterious of all them is the Type D killer whale, which inhabits sub-Antarctic waters between latitudes 40 degrees South and 60 degrees South.

Safari Ltd. is the first and so far only company to have released a Type D toy, back in 2023. It is of decent size, measuring slightly more than 15 cm long and 6.5 cm wide from flipper tip to flipper tip. Like most killer whale toys, its skin is smooth and untextured all over.

The tail is downturned and swinging to the right. The flippers are outspread and the dorsal fin is bent to the right, although I’m not sure if that was a deliberate choice by the sculptor or merely a case of warping. The mouth is firmly shut. The Type D’s diet is largely unknown, but it has been photographed feeding on fish.

Not surprisingly, the main colours on this toy are black and white. Grey is used for the dorsal capes on either side and the eyes are glossy black. Mine unfortunately has a black blemish on its belly. Other than that, though, the paint scheme is quite well done and appears accurate.

The tail flukes are correctly shaped and very broad, rounded flippers and tall, relatively straight dorsal fin show that this individual is a male. So what makes him a Type D? Well, for starters, the head has a distinctly bulbous profile, more like that of a beluga or a pilot whale. And second, the eye patches are extremely small, much smaller than on any other type of killer whale.

Safari’s Type D killer whale is an unusual but welcome addition to their marine menagerie. Recommended.

With Safari’s sand tiger shark and giant squid: