killer whale or orca A species ( Orcinus orca ) of toothed whale found in all seas from the Arctic to the Ant¬ arctic. Largest of the dolphins, the male may be 30 ft (9 m) long and weigh over 10,000 lbs (4,500 kg).
The killer whale is black, with white on the underparts, above each eye, and on each flank. The snout is blunt, and the strong jaws have 40-50 large, sharp, conical teeth. Killer whales live in groups of a few to about 50 individuals. They feed on fishes, cephalopods, penguins, and marine mammals; though they are fierce predators of seals and even other whales, there is no recorded instance of a killer whale attacking a human. They are often kept in cap¬ tivity and trained as performers in marine shows.
killifish Any of a few hundred species of egg-laying topminnows (see guppy) in the family Cyprinodon- tidae. They are found worldwide in brackish, salt, and fresh water, including desert hot springs. Some species grow to 6 in. (15 cm) long.
Killifish eat plant or animal material at the water’s surface. Many species (e.g., the lyretail) are attractively coloured and are kept in home aquariums. Killifish are also valuable as bait and for mosquito control.
Pupfish ( Cyprinodon ) inhabit Cali¬ fornia coasts and certain salt-lake shores in the western U.S. Some pupfish are listed as endangered; the Tecopa pupfish (C. nevadensis\ 0.6 in. [1.5 cm] long) was declared extinct in 1981.
Killy \ke-'le\, Jean-Claude (b. Aug. 30, 1943, Saint-Cloud, near Paris, France) French skier. Killy was reared in an Alpine ski resort. He became the European champion in 1965, and in 1966 he won the world combined championship (downhill, slalom, and giant slalom). In 1967 he won the first World Cup for men, repeating this triumph in 1968. In the 1968 Win¬ ter Olympics he became the second skier in history to sweep the Alpine events (after Austria’s Toni Sailer in 1956). He retired in 1968 but returned as a professional in 1972.
kiln Vkiln, 'kil\ Oven for firing, drying, baking, hardening, or burning a substance, particularly clay products but originally also grain and meal. Modem kilns are used in ceramics to fire clay and porcelain objects, in metallurgy for roasting iron ores, for burning lime and dolomite, and in making portland cement.
kilt Knee-length, skirtlike garment worn by men as part of the traditional national garb, or Highland dress, of Scotland. It is made of permanently pleated wool and wrapped around the wearer’s waist so that the pleats are in the back and the flat ends overlap in front. It is usually worn with the plaid, a rectangular length of cloth draped over the left shoulder. Both kilt and plaid are woven with a tartan pattern. The ensemble, which devel¬ oped in the 17th century, is worn for ordinary purposes as well as for special occasions. Highland dress is the uniform of Scottish regiments in the British army; kilts were worn into battle as recently as World War II.
Kilwa (Kisiwani) \'kel-wa\ Historical Islamic city-state, located on an island off the coast of what is now southern Tanzania. It became one of the most active commercial centres on the eastern coast of Africa by 1100, and gold coins were minted there. After being held briefly by the Portu-
Crater rim of Kilimanjaro at dawn.
GERALD CUBITT
Killer whale (Orcinus orca).
MIAMI SEAQUARIUM
GENE WOLFSHEIMER
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1036 I Kim Dae Jung ► king
guese in the 16th century, it declined in importance and was abandoned. Extensive ruins remain, including those of mosques, a Portuguese fort, and a 13th-14th-century palace. The town of Kilwa on the Tanzanian coast was the site of a major centre for the export of slaves in the 19th century.
Kim Dae Jung Vkim-'dI-'joqN (b. Jan. 6, 1924, Hayi-do, Korea) South Korean politician and the first opposition leader to become president. He first entered politics in 1954, opposing the policies of Syngman Rhee, but did not win a seat in government until 1961. After being arrested several times in the 1970s, Kim was sentenced to death on charges of sedition and conspiracy; that sentence was commuted to 20 years in prison. In 1985, after a brief exile in the U.S., he resumed his role as a leader of the political opposition. In 1997 he was elected president of South Korea, serving from 1998 to 2003. In 2000 he received the Nobel Prize for Peace.
Kim ll-sung Vkim-'il-'surjV (b. April 15, 1912, Man’gyondae, Korea—d. July 8, 1994, P’yongyang) Communist leader of North Korea from 1948 until his death. When Korea was effectively divided between a Soviet- occupied northern half and a U.S.-supported southern half at the end of World War II, Kim Il-sung helped establish a communist provisional gov¬ ernment and became its first premier. He invaded South Korea in an attempt to reunify the country, but the subsequent Korean War ended without reunification. After the war, Kim introduced a philosophy of self- reliance ( juche ) under which North Korea tried to develop its economy with little help from foreign countries. His omnipresent personality cult enabled him to rule unchallenged for 46 years in one of the world’s most isolated and repressive societies.
Kim Jong ll Vkim-'chaq-'iH or Kim Chong II (b. Feb. 16, 1941, Sibe¬ ria, Russia, U.S.S.R.) Son of Kim Il-sung. He was designated his father’s successor in 1980 and became North Korea’s de facto leader on his father’s death in 1994. Known in North Korea as the Dear Leader, he makes few public appearances. After the onset of a severe famine (1995— 98), he began to relax his country’s extreme isolationism.
Kim Young Sam Vkim-'yoq-'samX (b. Dec. 20, 1927, Koje Island [near Pusan], Korea) South Korean moderate opposition leader who served as president (1993-98) after his party merged with the ruling party. First elected to South Korea’s National Assembly in 1954, he served there until his expulsion in 1979 by Pres. Park Chung Hee, which touched off riots and demonstrations that preceded Park’s assassination. After the military takeover by Gen. Chun Doo Hwan in 1980, Kim was put under house arrest until 1983. In 1990 he merged his party with the ruling Democratic Justice Party, a move that helped him win the presidency in 1992. He enacted reforms to end political corruption, and his term was one of ris¬ ing prosperity for Korea until 1997, when Korea became caught up in an Asian financial crisis.
Kimberley City (pop., 2005 est.: urban area, 185,000), South Africa. It is the capital of Northern Cape province. Founded in 1871 shortly after the discovery of diamonds in the area, it was the capital of Griqualand West (1873-80) before it became part of Cape Colony. It was besieged by the Boers for four months (1899-1900) during the South African War. Kimberley is home to several historical memorials and museums that honour its diamond-mining past. It is still a centre for mining and cutting diamonds. Its outskirts are marked by immense pits and heaps of earth, the aftermath of mining operations. The now-defunct Kimberley mine (now called the Big Hole) is nearby.
kimberlite or blue ground Dark, heavy, often fragmented igneous rock that may contain diamonds in the rock matrix. Kimberlite is a mica peridotite, an ultrabasic rock type with a complex and often highly altered mineral composition. It occurs in the Kimberley district of South Africa and the Kimberley and Lake Argyle regions of Australia, as well as near Ithaca, N.Y.
kimono Garment worn by Japanese men and women from the Early Nara period (645-724) to the present. The essential kimono is an ankle- length gown with long, full sleeves and a V-neck. It is lapped left over right across the chest and secured at the waist by a broad sash known as an obi. The contemporary wide obi dates only from the 18th century. Though the kimono is originally of Chinese origin, its great beauty is attributable to 17th- and 18th-century Japanese designers.