Old Tom

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Old Tom was the name given to an orca by whalers in the port of Eden on the southeast coast of Australia. Old Tom was the leader of a pod of killer whales who helped the whalers by herding baleen whales into Twofold Bay. The killer whales would help kill the whale; in return, the whalers allowed the killer whales to eat the tongues and the lips of the baleen whales.

On 17 September 1930, Old Tom was found dead in Twofold Bay. Locals etimated Tom's age at between seventy and ninety years when he died, however more recent teeth studies place his death at around thirty five years of age.^{[citation needed]} His skeleton was preserved and is now on display at the Eden Killer Whale Museum.

[edit] External links

• Killers of Eden
• Eden Killer Whale Museum
• Whaling History, Sapphire Coast
• Sapphire Coast Marine Discovery Centre, a project to develop and build a public Marine Education and Research Centre
• Whaling History, Sapphire Coast Tourism, af enterprise of Bega Valley Shire Council