Old Tom (killer whale)

Old Tom (c. 1895 – 17 September 1930) was a killer whale (orca) known to whalers in the port of Eden, New South Wales, on the southeast coast of Australia. Old Tom measured 22 feet (6.7 m) and weighed 6 tons, with a 3.33 feet (1 m) skull and teeth about 5.31 inches (13.4 cm) long.

Old Tom swims alongside a whaling boat, flanking a whale calf: The boat is being towed by a harpooned whale (not visible here).
Skeleton of Old Tom in the Eden Killer Whale Museum

Old Tom was thought to be the leader of a pod of killer whales which helped the whalers by herding baleen whales into Twofold Bay.[1] To gain the whalers' attention after his pod had cornered a baleen whale, he would position himself in front of the whaling station, breach and thrash his tail flukes until they would row out to meet him. After making the kill, the whalers then allowed the killer whales in Old Tom's pod to eat the tongues and lips as their share of the kill, a practice known as the "Law of the Tongue".

Rumors suggest that the orcas were often freed from nets by the whalers in return for their aid, and in return, the orcas also helped repel sharks from the small whaling boats during the hunts. For three generations, the owners of the whaling station in Twofold Bay honoured this unique alliance, beginning with Alexander Davidson and his son George, until 1923, when Old Tom helped to drive a small whale to George Davidson's boat. A massive storm caused Davidson's shipmate, local retired pastoralist John Logan, to fight Old Tom for the carcass of the whale, ending with Logan damaging some of Old Tom's teeth. This would eventually lead to the killer whale dying of starvation; a fate Logan was said to have felt guilty of inflicting from that day forward.[2]

On 17 September 1930, Old Tom was found dead in Twofold Bay. Before his death, he had been thought to be over 90 years old.[3] Examination of his teeth indicated he died around age 35,[4] but this method of age determination is now believed to be inaccurate for older animals.[5] After Old Tom's death, his pod supposedly disbanded or was killed by Norwegian whalers who were unaware of the unique alliance between the pod and the whalers of Twofold Bay.[6]

Old Tom's bones were preserved and his skeleton is now on display in the Eden Killer Whale Museum.[7]

See also

References
  1. Gaskin, David Edward (1972). Whales, dolphins, and seals, with special reference to the New Zealand region. St. Martin's Press. p. 120. ISBN 0-435-62285-4. OCLC 704625.
  2. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/running-ponies/the-legend-of-old-tom-and-the-gruesome-law-of-the-tongue/
  3. W. F., Perrin (5–19 September 1978). Growth of Odontocetes and Sirenians: Problems in Age Determination. International Conference on Determining Age of Odontocete Cetaceans (and Sirenians). La Jolla: International Whaling Commission. p. 144.
  4. Mitchell, E. and Baker, A. N. (1980). Age of reputedly old Killer Whale, Orcinus orca, 'Old Tom' from Eden, Twofold Bay, Australia, in: W. F. Perrin and A. C. Myrick Jr (eds.): Age determination of toothed whales and sirenians, pp. 143–154 Rep. Int. Whal. Comm. (Special Issue 3), cited in Know the Killer Whale, The Dolphin's Encyclopaedia. Retrieved January 27, 2010
  5. Olesiuk, Peter F.; Ellis, Graeme M. and Ford, John K. B. (2005). Life History and Population Dynamics of Northern Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) in British Columbia Archived 2011-04-19 at the Wayback Machine, Research Document 2005/045, Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat, Fisheries and Oceans Canada. p. 33. Retrieved January 27, 2010
  6. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/running-ponies/the-legend-of-old-tom-and-the-gruesome-law-of-the-tongue/
  7. Wannan, Bill (1987). A Dictionary of Australian Folklore: Lore, Legends, Myths and Traditions. Viking O'Neil. p. 398. ISBN 978-0-670-90041-1.


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