Killers in Eden

For nearly a hundred years, the Australian coastal town of Eden was the setting for an extraordinary collaboration between two species, humans and killers whales, as they joined in hunts for migrating baleen whales. Rooted in historical fact and told by members of the community who actually witnessed the hunts, the story of these whales and whalers is a unique and extraordinary tale of the sea.

Teams of killer whales would actually herd the plankton-eating baleen whales into the bay at Eden, and notify the whalers they had arrived with prey by smacking their tails on the water. Then they would wait for the men to come out with their boats and harpoons, to participate in the kill, and share in the spoils. Somehow, the killer whales had come to the conclusion that it was in everyone's best interests to participate in this unusual hunting strategy. And the whalers were glad for their help, which made their job so much easier. The depth of the relationship between the men and the killer whales as they worked side by side and year after year became so personal that the whaling community considered the killers members of their own family and referred to each of them by name. In the end, it couldn't last. Times changed, taking most of the whales and the whaling industry with them, leaving this remarkable story behind.