Killer Whales Hunted With Humans

It has been hypothesized that our hunter-gatherer ancestors tamed dogs in the beginning to help them in their hunting. That's only a theory, but it's a solid one given that we've relied on more than just dogs to assist us in hunting over the years. To hunt in the wide sea, for instance, a gang of hunters in New South Wales, Australia, once collaborated with killer whales.

Whalers from the village of Eden were reputed to use killer whales to hunt baleen whales between 1840 and 1930. The baleens were sought after by human whalers, but orcas also valued them as a food source. Until the humans recognized something strange, the orcas were merely a bothersome whale in the way. Baleen whales were being herded by the orcas toward the hunters.

Old Tom, a big killer whale that the hunters named, was in charge of the pod. He started slapping his tail on the water as he approached the whaling ships. The humans quickly understood that they needed to return to where the other orcas had cornered a baleen by following the whale there. When the whalers killed it, the pod devoured the meat while keeping the blubber and bones for the humans, who desired those parts.