When Killer Whales and Humans Hunted Together

Always found orcas to be one of the most fascinating creatures. The more I learn about them, the more I've come to admire them.

I think another interesting two-animal pairing is ravens and wolves: Where the ravens scout out and alert wolves to prey animals, and the wolves would follow the ravens to the target. It only gets even more interesting when it's been documented that the ravens will play with the wolf pups and develop relationships with them.

A correction: humans have worked with other large predators. And that relationship was so succesful that the evidence of it might be sitting beside you on the couch, licking your hand or out barking at the mailman to warn them away from your house. Wolves became part of the human story so long ago that the history of it is controversial and new findings are often changing that story and timelime. But perhaps, somewhere in the icey Northern wastelands a similar relationship evolved as wolves assisted humans in taking down large, formidable prey.

Oh fuck that's a cool DnD Warlock idea. "You make a pact with a creature that hunts with your tribe, and it starts hunts that you participate in"

Old Tom and his pod, the Killers of Eden, are legendary. His death was tragic, but at least he died free. Tilikum, Lolita/Tokitae, Moby Doll, Hugo, Shamu, Namu, Kasatka, Kiska, Gudrun and others weren't so lucky.

One of the weirdest relationships in the wild is baboons and crocodiles. Most of the other animals in the area understand the baboon "it's safe" call by the watering hole. Baboons have been documented faking the call to lure other animals to the watering hole so the crocodiles can eat them. The crocodiles in turn leave them alone.

Somewhere in South America dolphins and humans fish together; the dolphins will drive a shoal of fish towards the fisherman standing in the sea with their nets, and the fishermen will share their catch with the dolphins.

you know an animal is really amazing when Stephanie/ Real Science has made 3 videos about them

A storm and dwindling whale numbers led to the breaking of an almost century old bond between a family of fishers and the Orca pod. I can’t imagine how the weight of that guilt must feel. Good that he did what he could to atone for it, even if it would never be enough.

It's ironic that this video about how humans and orcas were hunting together until one betrayed the other has the segment about Curiosity betraying Nebula after working together for so long.

As a marine biology student, your content really is a gem to me

A few years ago I was out sea kayaking along a local cliff and came across a pod of orcas, I was extremely anxious as two of the younger ones kept bumping my kayak. I got to the nearby cliff and climbed onto a large outcropping of rocks. They continued bumping my kayak so I had to drag it up the cliff as I was worried they would damage it or drag it away leaving me stranded. They stayed in the area for about 90mins just watching me before eventually getting bored and leaving. That was a long long 90mins. It was an extremely surreal experience, I wasn’t afraid of orcas before that encounter but no way in hell would I get into the water with them now. I’ve always had amazing experiences with bottlenose dolphins, seals and basking sharks over the years. Orcas honestly just felt different, in a way only an intelligent predator can. At least that’s the best way I can describe it.

Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three people (two trainers and a trespasser). Keto killed one trainer. Tilikum was captured in Iceland. Keto was born in captivity. Orcas shouldn't be kept in small tanks and forced to perform tricks for tourists.

This is one of those fascinating facts that too few Aussies are ever taught in school! To think that the two most intelligent and adaptable apex predators on earth figured out how to coexist should speak volumes to how shitty we humans really are to each other, let alone other creatures we consider beneath us.

Orcas are one of my favorite animals specifically because I imagined situations like this, if we could figure out how to talk to orcas. We know humans and orca can work together as an immutable fact. Knowing that this cooperation deal was destroyed almost put tears in my eyes. Maybe someday we can rebuild a relationship just like this.

In australia i actually DID learn a fair bit about the Yuin/orca relationship, and its domething that has always fascinated me, its an excellent example of both our own and their intelligence coexisting perfectly

Amazing story. I'm so grateful i caught this early, and that you shared it. Wikipedia just doesn't do your videos justice 😅 I never knew that the human fell to his knees like that, and that the betrayal even ever happened. Looking forward to visiting the outback and going to the museum to see and honor Old Thom's remains.

I doubt you have time to read most of the comments, but I just want to say how much my 9yo daughter and I appreciate your videos. We watch them on our way to school, which can be a pretty long drive, and between your videos and SciShow, we've learned so much about animals and a ton of other topics. She's excited about learning and it's so cool to hear her try to share facts she's learned with other adults and her friends. So thank you for what you do!

Pretty cool to think we once worked with/hunted alongside such intelligent and remarkable animals. The wolves of the sea deserved our respect imo

Orcas are incredible majestic animals and alittle scary at the same time, they're incredibly smart and people should respect them. This might be a bad comparison but like the Blue Ringed Octopus its Incredible to look at but very deadly if handled incorrectly