10 Famous Whales From Seas To Screens

With their size and booming calls, whales never cease to amaze us. Early sailors often mistook them for sea monsters and hunted them as the demand for whale oil grew. Thankfully, it has significantly reduced. In this article, we will highlight famous whales that graced literature and tugged the heartstrings of animal lovers.

10 Famous Whales You Should Know

Quick links to the most popular humongous cetaceans:

1. Moby Dick

We are starting our list of famous whales with Moby Dick, a noteworthy character in Herman Melville's 1851 novel. The fictitious white sperm whale is known for its immense power and aggression. This character, reflecting Melville's experiences as a sailor and extensive knowledge of whaling, was inspired by actual incidents.

The destructive whale mirrors the real-life albino sperm whale, Mocha Dick, from Mocha Islands in the Pacific Ocean just west of Chile, notorious for his size and strength. Under Captain George Pollard Jr, the real-life whaling ship, Essex, fell victim to the giant's unprecedented attack, a striking parallel to the disaster in the novel.

2. Humphrey

As you can guess from its name, Humphrey is a humpback whale famous for being lost. Rescuers had to get him out when he swam into San Francisco Bay, up the shallow waters of the Sacramento River, towards Rio Vista. 

His first rescue was in October 1985, and his second rescue occurred five years later. He got stuck on the mudflats in San Francisco Bay, and rescuers had to pull him out using a large cargo net attached to the Coast Guard boat. 

They guided him back to the ocean with a sound net, a small fleet of boats that made terrible noises by banging on steel pipes. The sound net is a Japanese fishing method known as oikami.

3. Migaloo

Next on our list of famous whales is Migaloo, a white humpback whale.  The first sighting of Australia’s most renowned whale was in 1991, off the coast of Australia. Scientists confirmed his change from the recordings of the whale’s song. They also identify him with his slightly hooked dorsal fin and uniquely shaped tail flukes. 

Scientists considered Migaloo an albino but didn’t have the typical pink or red eyes associated with albinism. After studying his DNA for years, Australian Marine Mammal Center researchers discovered a genetic variation that caused albinism. This confirmed that Migaloo is a unique albino with brown eyes¹.

4. Granny or J2

Granny is the oldest killer whale in the world. Her official name was J2. She lived among the Southern Resident killer whales for 105 years. Her existence contributed data to research on whales for over 40 years. 

J2 was about 21 ft long. She played a significant role in ensuring the safety and survival of the pod, which led to a study’s conclusion on how post-reproductive females benefit the pod by transferring ecological knowledge².

5. Exploding whale

On November 9, 1970, a 45-foot sperm whale weighing about 8 tons washed ashore near Florence on Oregon’s south coast. Beachgoers at the time were fascinated by the sight of the giant whale. Still, the local authorities were worried about the impact of the giant carcass on the environment.

They worried people might fall into the rotting whale as they tried to explore the dead whale's length. The Oregon State Highway Division, U.S. Navy, and other munition experts decided to use dynamites to blow up the whale’s carcass into small pieces for scavengers. 

On November 12, a crowd of spectators, including residents and reporters, gathered a quarter mile away to watch the explosion. They used half a ton of dynamite for the blast, and several chunks of meat flew in all directions. Fortunately, no one was injured by the large chunks of meat flying about. Only a sedan vehicle was crushed.

6. Old Tom

Next on our list of famous whales is Old Tom. Along with other orcas, Old Tom helped whalers kill migrating baleen whales at Twofold Bay in Eden, mainland Australia. 

He weighed 6 tons and was 22 feet long. Old Tom led the pod of killer whales that herded and alerted the whalers. They recognized him by his tall dorsal fins. To get their attention, he performed a flop-tailed move. He accompanied the boats, sometimes tugging the rope with his teeth to tow the ship.

He frequented the Bay Area until his death. The whalers rewarded him with the lips and tongues of their catch. Humans found his body floating in the bay on September 17, 1930. His remains are in the Eden Killer Whale Museum.

7. Shamu  (SeaWorld San Diego)

Shamu was captured in the wild in 1965 and sold to SeaWorld San Diego. Whale hunters killed her mother and took her when she was three years old. At SeaWorld San Diego, they starved her and only fed her when she learned tricks. She became the park's first performing orca.

Shamu stopped performing in 1971 after an incident involving an employee, Annette Eckis. She was to ride on Shamu’s back for a televised publicity stunt. Annette fell off her back, and the orca held on to her leg with its teeth. The trainer had to use a pole to pry her jaws open and release Annette’s leg. 

Annette needed over 100 stitches to fix her leg. She sued the park, and Shamu retired. Unfortunately, Shamu died shortly after the incident. She died at nine years old from blood poisoning and uterine infection.

Related Read: Should Zoos Be Banned? — A View From Both Sides.

8. Kalina (SeaWorld Orlando)

Kalina, also known as Baby Shamu, is another orca who shares Shamu's fate. She entered SeaWorld Orlando in 1985 and is the first orca to live after being born in captivity. The park moved her around a lot, from SeaWorld Orlando to San Diego, Ohio, and San Antonio. 

She moved from one tank to another. At six years old, she got pregnant. Even though the average pregnancy age for orcas was 15, the park managers didn’t care. She gave birth to four calves before she died of blood poisoning in 2010.

9. Hyak (Vancouver Aquarium)

Hyak was a captive of the Vancouver Aquarium in British Columbia. Like other whales born in captivity, he died at 24 years old before his prime. His death led to some form of a happy ending. It sparked the policy banning the captivity of orcas from the wild. 

10. Keiko (Free Willy)

Keiko is an orca featured in a 1993 movie, Free Willy. The movie is about a unique friendship between a young boy and a captive orca forced to perform at a water park. Like his role in the film, Keiko was taken from the wild as a young whale in 1977-1978. 

The movie's success brought attention to Keiko's captivity, leading to his release. After two years of rehabilitation, the Icelandic government approved his return to the wild in 1998.