1 00:00:15,410 --> 00:00:29,130 Speaker 1: Pushkin eighteen nineteen. The Pacific Ocean. The Pacific is pretty big, 2 00:00:29,370 --> 00:00:32,810 Speaker 1: so let's narrow it down. We're close to the equator. 3 00:00:33,210 --> 00:00:38,250 Speaker 1: Three thousand miles one way lies Ecuador, seven thousand miles 4 00:00:38,290 --> 00:00:42,250 Speaker 1: the other way Papua New Guinea. Your nearest land is 5 00:00:42,290 --> 00:00:46,530 Speaker 1: a small volcano in what's now French Polynesia. And when 6 00:00:46,570 --> 00:00:51,930 Speaker 1: I say nearest, I'm talking fifteen one hundred miles. You 7 00:00:51,970 --> 00:00:56,530 Speaker 1: get the idea. We're a very long way from anywhere. 8 00:00:58,210 --> 00:01:01,770 Speaker 1: Twenty men are on a wooden ship, perched at the 9 00:01:01,770 --> 00:01:05,250 Speaker 1: top of the mast. One man is scanning the horizon 10 00:01:05,330 --> 00:01:09,010 Speaker 1: for the tell tales spout of water from a whale's blowhole. 11 00:01:10,170 --> 00:01:14,810 Speaker 1: When he spots one, he'll shout, there she blows. The 12 00:01:14,890 --> 00:01:18,770 Speaker 1: men will split up into smaller, lighter boats and row 13 00:01:18,930 --> 00:01:23,450 Speaker 1: towards the whales. They'll throw a harpoon kind of barbed 14 00:01:23,530 --> 00:01:27,970 Speaker 1: spear attached to a rope. The harpooned whale will thrash 15 00:01:28,490 --> 00:01:32,010 Speaker 1: or dive or swim away, dragging the boat behind it. 16 00:01:32,450 --> 00:01:34,850 Speaker 1: The men will keep hold of the rope until the 17 00:01:34,890 --> 00:01:40,250 Speaker 1: whale exhausts itself. Then they'll stab the whale to death 18 00:01:40,810 --> 00:01:43,290 Speaker 1: and take its body back to the ship, where they'll 19 00:01:43,330 --> 00:01:46,490 Speaker 1: strip it of its blubber that gets boiled down to 20 00:01:46,530 --> 00:01:52,690 Speaker 1: make oil, which is used in lamps. Whaling is big business, 21 00:01:53,050 --> 00:01:59,090 Speaker 1: one of the largest sectors of the US economy. There 22 00:01:59,210 --> 00:02:04,170 Speaker 1: she blows whales, a whole pod of them. The men 23 00:02:04,210 --> 00:02:08,290 Speaker 1: got into the smaller boats. They rowed closer. The first mate, 24 00:02:08,410 --> 00:02:11,570 Speaker 1: owin Chain, threw his harpoon at one of the whales 25 00:02:12,210 --> 00:02:16,410 Speaker 1: in agony, he later described, The whale threw himself up 26 00:02:16,570 --> 00:02:21,290 Speaker 1: over towards the boat. The whales thrashing tail knocked a 27 00:02:21,330 --> 00:02:25,050 Speaker 1: hole in the little wooden boat. As water gushed in. 28 00:02:25,610 --> 00:02:28,410 Speaker 1: Chase quickly cut the road. He didn't want to be 29 00:02:28,490 --> 00:02:32,650 Speaker 1: dragged away. One man bailed out water as the others 30 00:02:33,090 --> 00:02:36,010 Speaker 1: rowed back to the ship. They climbed on board and 31 00:02:36,090 --> 00:02:39,690 Speaker 1: hoisted up their damaged boat. Chase and the men were 32 00:02:39,730 --> 00:02:42,210 Speaker 1: starting to repair it when. 33 00:02:42,850 --> 00:02:47,130 Speaker 2: I observed a very large whale, about eighty five feet 34 00:02:47,170 --> 00:02:50,850 Speaker 2: in length. He spouted two or three times and then 35 00:02:51,970 --> 00:02:55,930 Speaker 2: made directly for us with full speed. Had struck the 36 00:02:56,010 --> 00:02:56,970 Speaker 2: ship with his head. 37 00:02:59,570 --> 00:03:03,010 Speaker 1: The men had never known anything like it. They looked 38 00:03:03,050 --> 00:03:09,010 Speaker 1: at each other, Chase said, with perfect amazement. The whale 39 00:03:09,290 --> 00:03:12,690 Speaker 1: swam away, then stopped. 40 00:03:13,690 --> 00:03:18,090 Speaker 2: I could distinctly see him smite his jars together, as 41 00:03:18,170 --> 00:03:21,010 Speaker 2: if distracted with rage and fury. 42 00:03:22,250 --> 00:03:29,890 Speaker 1: The whale turned around and came straight back at them. 43 00:03:30,090 --> 00:03:35,530 Speaker 1: I'm Tim Harford, and you're listening to cautionary tales about whales. 44 00:04:05,130 --> 00:04:09,850 Speaker 1: Nineteen eighty three, off the coast of Iceland, another boat 45 00:04:09,930 --> 00:04:13,970 Speaker 1: is hunting whales, though not this time to make oil 46 00:04:14,090 --> 00:04:17,050 Speaker 1: for lamps. They want to make money from them in 47 00:04:17,130 --> 00:04:21,050 Speaker 1: another way. The aim is to grab young whales that 48 00:04:21,090 --> 00:04:25,530 Speaker 1: can be trained to perform for tourists in marine amusement parks. 49 00:04:26,530 --> 00:04:30,090 Speaker 1: They capture a two year old orca, also known as 50 00:04:30,130 --> 00:04:34,970 Speaker 1: a killer whale, the Black and White ones. The captured 51 00:04:35,010 --> 00:04:40,650 Speaker 1: whale is transported to Seaaland in Victoria, Canada. He's given 52 00:04:40,650 --> 00:04:45,970 Speaker 1: the name Tillicumb. Tillicomb's story is told in the twenty 53 00:04:46,170 --> 00:04:51,930 Speaker 1: thirteen documentary Blackfish. Marine park trainers who used to work 54 00:04:51,970 --> 00:04:56,610 Speaker 1: with orcas describe how intelligent they are. When you look 55 00:04:56,610 --> 00:05:00,130 Speaker 1: into their eyes, says one, you know somebody is home. 56 00:05:01,570 --> 00:05:05,330 Speaker 1: The filmmakers talk to one man who recalls what happened 57 00:05:05,330 --> 00:05:07,370 Speaker 1: when he was hired to work on a boat that 58 00:05:07,650 --> 00:05:12,770 Speaker 1: captured orcas like Tiller. A plane flew above them, keeping 59 00:05:12,850 --> 00:05:18,650 Speaker 1: track of the whales and directing the hunt. They used 60 00:05:18,810 --> 00:05:22,170 Speaker 1: explosives to herd the whales into a bay where they 61 00:05:22,170 --> 00:05:25,250 Speaker 1: could enclose them in the net. They picked out the 62 00:05:25,290 --> 00:05:28,650 Speaker 1: baby orcas and hoisted them up out of the water. 63 00:05:29,810 --> 00:05:32,690 Speaker 1: Then they took away the net so the other whales 64 00:05:32,690 --> 00:05:37,530 Speaker 1: could leave. But the other whales didn't leave. They stayed 65 00:05:37,890 --> 00:05:43,570 Speaker 1: making loud noises. The boatman had a vivid sense of 66 00:05:43,650 --> 00:05:46,450 Speaker 1: the almost human pain he witnessed. 67 00:05:49,770 --> 00:06:00,210 Speaker 3: You understand then, what you're doing. You know, I lost it. 68 00:06:00,370 --> 00:06:05,490 Speaker 3: I mean I just started crying, you know, just couldn't 69 00:06:05,530 --> 00:06:10,690 Speaker 3: handle it, Just like napping a little kid away from 70 00:06:10,690 --> 00:06:13,210 Speaker 3: a mother. You know, I can't think of it worse 71 00:06:13,250 --> 00:06:13,490 Speaker 3: than that. 72 00:06:17,290 --> 00:06:21,810 Speaker 1: At Seaaland, the young orca Tillicumb is pared for training 73 00:06:21,850 --> 00:06:26,650 Speaker 1: with an older whale who's an experienced performer. If either 74 00:06:26,690 --> 00:06:31,370 Speaker 1: whale does something wrong, both whales are punished. They don't 75 00:06:31,370 --> 00:06:36,090 Speaker 1: get fed. The older whale responds by raking Tillicumb with 76 00:06:36,170 --> 00:06:41,250 Speaker 1: her teeth, and Tillicumb learns to perform, you know, the 77 00:06:41,330 --> 00:06:44,450 Speaker 1: kind of performance, waving at the crowd with a thin 78 00:06:45,330 --> 00:06:47,610 Speaker 1: giving a trainer in a wet suit a ride around 79 00:06:47,650 --> 00:06:50,490 Speaker 1: the pool, jumping up to make a big splash that 80 00:06:50,690 --> 00:06:56,250 Speaker 1: soaks all the squealing children sitting at the front at night. 81 00:06:57,010 --> 00:06:57,810 Speaker 4: The whale is a. 82 00:06:57,810 --> 00:07:11,330 Speaker 1: Shut away in a small, dark steel tank. Twenty year 83 00:07:11,370 --> 00:07:15,770 Speaker 1: old Kelty Lee Byrne is a student and championship swimmer 84 00:07:16,010 --> 00:07:19,810 Speaker 1: who has a part time job at sealand after a show, 85 00:07:20,530 --> 00:07:24,770 Speaker 1: Kelty slips and falls into the pool. The whales grab 86 00:07:24,890 --> 00:07:28,370 Speaker 1: Kelty by the foot and drag her under the water. 87 00:07:29,530 --> 00:07:32,690 Speaker 1: They bring her back to the surface. Help me, Kelty 88 00:07:32,770 --> 00:07:36,650 Speaker 1: else or the whales drag her down again and again. 89 00:07:37,450 --> 00:07:41,570 Speaker 1: I don't want to die, but she does die. The 90 00:07:41,650 --> 00:07:45,930 Speaker 1: killer whales keep her down for too long and she drowns. 91 00:07:49,050 --> 00:07:53,770 Speaker 1: After the death, Sealand closes down, Tillicumb is sold to 92 00:07:53,970 --> 00:07:59,690 Speaker 1: sea World, another marine amusement park in Orlando, Florida. When 93 00:07:59,730 --> 00:08:03,610 Speaker 1: Tillicumb arrives at SeaWorld, he's attacked by the other whales, 94 00:08:03,970 --> 00:08:06,530 Speaker 1: so he has to be kept apart from them. In 95 00:08:06,570 --> 00:08:10,770 Speaker 1: the movie Blackfish, a former trainer. He was always happy 96 00:08:10,810 --> 00:08:13,170 Speaker 1: to see you in the morning, Maybe because he was alone, 97 00:08:13,650 --> 00:08:16,850 Speaker 1: maybe because he was hungry, maybe because he just liked you. 98 00:08:17,330 --> 00:08:21,050 Speaker 1: Who knows what was going on in his head? Who 99 00:08:21,130 --> 00:08:25,010 Speaker 1: knows what was going on in his head. In twenty ten, 100 00:08:25,410 --> 00:08:29,450 Speaker 1: trainer Dawn Brancho is bringing the show to a close. 101 00:08:30,530 --> 00:08:34,330 Speaker 1: Dawn is forty years old. She's one of SeaWorld's most 102 00:08:34,330 --> 00:08:38,370 Speaker 1: experienced orca handlers. She's lying down at the edge of 103 00:08:38,370 --> 00:08:42,130 Speaker 1: the pool giving Tillicomb a pat on the head. What 104 00:08:42,370 --> 00:08:48,410 Speaker 1: is going on in Tillicomb's head? In Blackfish? Some former 105 00:08:48,610 --> 00:08:54,690 Speaker 1: Sea World trainers analyzed the video of Dawn's last show 106 00:08:54,730 --> 00:08:58,410 Speaker 1: to start with, they say, all seems well. Tillicom's doing 107 00:08:58,650 --> 00:09:01,810 Speaker 1: just what Dawn asks him. He rises out of the 108 00:09:01,850 --> 00:09:05,810 Speaker 1: water and twirls around as Dawn, standing by the side 109 00:09:05,810 --> 00:09:10,570 Speaker 1: of the broad twirls around in synchrony. Audience cooh and clap. 110 00:09:11,170 --> 00:09:14,770 Speaker 1: Tillicumb gets his reward. Dawn throws him a fish from 111 00:09:14,810 --> 00:09:18,530 Speaker 1: a bucket. She asks him to do a perimeter peck wave. 112 00:09:19,570 --> 00:09:22,730 Speaker 1: Tillicumb swims all round the edge of the pool, waving 113 00:09:22,770 --> 00:09:26,650 Speaker 1: to the audience with his pectoral fin. Dawn blows a whistle. 114 00:09:27,010 --> 00:09:31,250 Speaker 1: He should stop and get his fish, but he doesn't stop, 115 00:09:31,970 --> 00:09:34,890 Speaker 1: perhaps because he didn't hear the whistle. He does another 116 00:09:34,970 --> 00:09:38,330 Speaker 1: round of the pool, still waving his fin, but because 117 00:09:38,330 --> 00:09:42,650 Speaker 1: he didn't stop at the whistle, he doesn't get his reward. Instead, 118 00:09:43,010 --> 00:09:47,530 Speaker 1: he gets what the trainers call a three second neutral response. 119 00:09:48,130 --> 00:09:53,410 Speaker 1: That wasn't what we wanted. No fish for you, I believe. 120 00:09:53,410 --> 00:09:56,610 Speaker 1: At this point he gets frustrated, says one of the trainers. 121 00:09:57,210 --> 00:09:59,770 Speaker 1: As Dawn lies down by the side of the pool. 122 00:10:00,010 --> 00:10:03,010 Speaker 1: At the end of the show, Tilicom grabs her and 123 00:10:03,050 --> 00:10:08,250 Speaker 1: pulls her underwater. He doesn't let her soon. The sensational 124 00:10:08,370 --> 00:10:11,650 Speaker 1: story was all over the network news. 125 00:10:12,210 --> 00:10:12,850 Speaker 3: First to night. 126 00:10:12,970 --> 00:10:15,570 Speaker 2: A six ton killer whale has lived up to his name, 127 00:10:15,650 --> 00:10:18,290 Speaker 2: killing an experienced trainer at SeaWorld Orlando. 128 00:10:18,370 --> 00:10:21,530 Speaker 1: Today, eyewitnesses are saying that an employee there at sea 129 00:10:21,570 --> 00:10:22,690 Speaker 1: World died. 130 00:10:22,970 --> 00:10:25,930 Speaker 3: After being attacked by one of the killer whales that 131 00:10:26,210 --> 00:10:27,410 Speaker 3: are part of a show there. 132 00:10:27,770 --> 00:10:29,050 Speaker 1: Tragedy at SeaWorld. 133 00:10:29,050 --> 00:10:30,210 Speaker 4: It happened without warning. 134 00:10:30,490 --> 00:10:33,210 Speaker 1: A killer whale grabbed a trainer who had always dreamed 135 00:10:33,210 --> 00:10:37,690 Speaker 1: of working with orcas and pulled her underwater. By the 136 00:10:37,730 --> 00:10:42,010 Speaker 1: time Tillicom's done with Dawn, her body is savaged. It 137 00:10:42,050 --> 00:10:49,930 Speaker 1: has multiple fractures and dislocations. He's ripped a scalpoff frustration aggression. 138 00:10:50,250 --> 00:10:53,490 Speaker 1: Did its start as play? Was it revenge for doing 139 00:10:53,850 --> 00:10:56,890 Speaker 1: two perfect perimeter peck waves and not getting a single 140 00:10:56,970 --> 00:11:00,610 Speaker 1: fish from a bucket. Who knows what was going on 141 00:11:00,730 --> 00:11:06,010 Speaker 1: in his head? Perhaps, as animal rights activists argued, the 142 00:11:06,090 --> 00:11:07,810 Speaker 1: explanation was straightforward. 143 00:11:08,050 --> 00:11:10,650 Speaker 2: If you weren't about to for twenty five years, don't 144 00:11:10,690 --> 00:11:13,850 Speaker 2: you think you'd get a little irritated, aggravated, maybe a 145 00:11:13,890 --> 00:11:14,770 Speaker 2: little psychotic. 146 00:11:15,970 --> 00:11:23,370 Speaker 1: Had Tillicum simply gone off the deep end in the 147 00:11:23,410 --> 00:11:28,330 Speaker 1: middle of the Pacific in eighteen nineteen, First Mate Owen 148 00:11:28,570 --> 00:11:33,210 Speaker 1: Chase is standing on a slowly sinking ship. The ship 149 00:11:33,210 --> 00:11:36,930 Speaker 1: has just been headbutted by an eighty five foot whale. 150 00:11:37,330 --> 00:11:40,650 Speaker 1: It's taking in water, and now the whale is coming 151 00:11:40,730 --> 00:11:44,050 Speaker 1: back for another go. He came at us, Chase. 152 00:11:43,770 --> 00:11:48,290 Speaker 2: Says, apparently with twice his ordinary speed, and to me 153 00:11:48,370 --> 00:11:52,090 Speaker 2: at that moment it appeared with tenfold fury and vengeance 154 00:11:52,130 --> 00:11:52,890 Speaker 2: in his aspect. 155 00:11:53,810 --> 00:11:56,810 Speaker 1: The whales smashed into the ship for a second time, 156 00:11:59,690 --> 00:12:05,450 Speaker 1: then it swam away. Chase tried to gather his wits. 157 00:12:06,490 --> 00:12:09,610 Speaker 1: The ship was damaged beyond repair. They wouldn't have long 158 00:12:09,650 --> 00:12:13,410 Speaker 1: before it toppled sidewards had better salvage what they could. 159 00:12:14,370 --> 00:12:20,250 Speaker 1: A quadrant, a compass, nautical charts, the captain's trunk. They 160 00:12:20,290 --> 00:12:24,330 Speaker 1: tossed it all into the smaller boats, then clambered in themselves. 161 00:12:24,930 --> 00:12:28,570 Speaker 1: The captain himself, George Pollard, was out on a small 162 00:12:28,570 --> 00:12:33,290 Speaker 1: boat chasing another whale. His voice came floating over the water. 163 00:12:33,930 --> 00:12:36,650 Speaker 4: My god, where is the ship? 164 00:12:37,890 --> 00:12:41,570 Speaker 1: The men in Captain Pollard's boat rowed back to join 165 00:12:41,770 --> 00:12:45,530 Speaker 1: Owen Chase and the others. Together the crew sat in 166 00:12:45,570 --> 00:12:48,570 Speaker 1: their little boats and surveyed the remains of their ship, 167 00:12:49,090 --> 00:12:51,250 Speaker 1: lolling on its side in the ocean. 168 00:12:51,810 --> 00:12:54,410 Speaker 4: My god, mister Chase, what is the matter? 169 00:12:55,250 --> 00:12:55,930 Speaker 1: We have been. 170 00:12:55,890 --> 00:12:57,810 Speaker 2: Stowed by a whale. 171 00:12:58,050 --> 00:13:04,370 Speaker 1: Twenty men, three small rowing boats, fifteen hundred miles to 172 00:13:04,450 --> 00:13:11,610 Speaker 1: the nearest tiny island. Cautionary tails will return after the break. 173 00:13:21,290 --> 00:13:25,490 Speaker 1: In the movie Blackfish, a former trainer at the SeaWorld 174 00:13:25,850 --> 00:13:30,570 Speaker 1: recalls how one young orca born in captivity was taken 175 00:13:30,610 --> 00:13:34,690 Speaker 1: away to be transported to a different park. That night. 176 00:13:34,970 --> 00:13:38,770 Speaker 1: Says the trainer, the mother whale stayed in the corner 177 00:13:38,810 --> 00:13:43,090 Speaker 1: of the pool like literally just shaking and screaming, screeching, crying. 178 00:13:43,530 --> 00:13:46,810 Speaker 1: I've never seen her do anything like that. Who knows 179 00:13:46,930 --> 00:13:50,570 Speaker 1: what was going on in her head. The trainer is 180 00:13:50,610 --> 00:13:53,370 Speaker 1: in no doubt there was nothing you could call that, 181 00:13:53,730 --> 00:13:59,090 Speaker 1: She says, besides grief, not so fast, says an article 182 00:13:59,130 --> 00:14:04,130 Speaker 1: on a website called awesomeocean dot Com, a website set 183 00:14:04,210 --> 00:14:09,010 Speaker 1: up with funding from SeaWorld. The article complains that black 184 00:14:09,210 --> 00:14:16,290 Speaker 1: Fish uses anthropomorphism to manipulate viewers. The word anthropomorphism comes 185 00:14:16,290 --> 00:14:20,650 Speaker 1: from the Greek for human form. It means using human 186 00:14:20,690 --> 00:14:24,410 Speaker 1: ideas to interpret the behavior of things that aren't human 187 00:14:24,810 --> 00:14:30,210 Speaker 1: gods or cars or whales. It's long been controversial among 188 00:14:30,330 --> 00:14:35,770 Speaker 1: scientists who study animal behavior. The article on awesomeocean dot 189 00:14:35,770 --> 00:14:39,690 Speaker 1: Com points out that the documentary makers accompany the trainer's 190 00:14:39,770 --> 00:14:44,370 Speaker 1: words about grief with footage of a whale mouth wide open, 191 00:14:44,650 --> 00:14:47,090 Speaker 1: looking well grief stricken. 192 00:14:47,770 --> 00:14:51,930 Speaker 4: But orcas have no connection to their lungs through their mouth. 193 00:14:51,970 --> 00:14:55,610 Speaker 1: The article explains, nor do they have vocal cords. 194 00:14:55,850 --> 00:14:59,130 Speaker 4: All sound is created through the blowhole. It is physically 195 00:14:59,170 --> 00:15:02,930 Speaker 4: impossible for an orca to produce sound by opening their mouth, 196 00:15:04,050 --> 00:15:05,090 Speaker 4: But it seems. 197 00:15:04,770 --> 00:15:09,050 Speaker 1: We find it hard not to anthropomorphize even when we're trying. 198 00:15:09,690 --> 00:15:13,930 Speaker 1: The very same article tries to reassure readers about the 199 00:15:13,970 --> 00:15:15,090 Speaker 1: welfare of Tillicomb. 200 00:15:15,570 --> 00:15:20,610 Speaker 4: Tillicomb is semi retired, has access to several of SeaWorld's 201 00:15:20,730 --> 00:15:23,810 Speaker 4: enormous pools and spends a lot of time with his 202 00:15:23,930 --> 00:15:27,010 Speaker 4: grandson Trua on a daily basis. 203 00:15:27,170 --> 00:15:30,690 Speaker 1: Which sounds lovely, but only if we see it through 204 00:15:30,690 --> 00:15:35,090 Speaker 1: a human lens. It conjures up the pleasing mental image 205 00:15:35,130 --> 00:15:37,890 Speaker 1: of a contented old man taking a small boy to 206 00:15:37,930 --> 00:15:41,250 Speaker 1: the park, pushing him on the swings, and buying him 207 00:15:41,250 --> 00:15:44,690 Speaker 1: an ice cream. That tells us nothing, of course, about 208 00:15:44,690 --> 00:15:50,570 Speaker 1: what life might be like for Tillicomb. We'll come back 209 00:15:50,610 --> 00:15:54,570 Speaker 1: to the article on awesomeocean dot com. But what about 210 00:15:54,570 --> 00:16:02,010 Speaker 1: another human emotion? We tend to anthropomorphize vengeance. Remember how 211 00:16:02,210 --> 00:16:05,890 Speaker 1: Owen Chase described the whale that sank his boat. 212 00:16:06,570 --> 00:16:11,010 Speaker 2: I could distinctly see him smite his jars together, as 213 00:16:11,050 --> 00:16:13,930 Speaker 2: if distracted with rage and fury. 214 00:16:15,370 --> 00:16:18,810 Speaker 1: We seem to love stories about terrifying sea creatures with 215 00:16:18,890 --> 00:16:23,490 Speaker 1: an apparent thirst for revenge or justice. Think of the 216 00:16:23,490 --> 00:16:27,130 Speaker 1: scene in the classic movie Jaws where the shark attacks 217 00:16:27,170 --> 00:16:31,330 Speaker 1: the hunter's boat and eats him. Or the eighteen fifties 218 00:16:31,370 --> 00:16:35,690 Speaker 1: novel Moby Dick, about the whale and whaling ship captain 219 00:16:36,210 --> 00:16:40,930 Speaker 1: who pursue each other across the seas. Moby Dick was 220 00:16:41,010 --> 00:16:46,210 Speaker 1: inspired by a true story. The story told by Owen Chase, 221 00:16:47,450 --> 00:16:49,970 Speaker 1: but I think there's something more we can take from 222 00:16:50,050 --> 00:16:58,410 Speaker 1: hearing Chase's tail. In the middle of the Pacific first mate, 223 00:16:58,650 --> 00:17:02,410 Speaker 1: Owen Chase and his captain are contemplating what remains of 224 00:17:02,450 --> 00:17:07,170 Speaker 1: their whaling ship. They have three small rowing boats, with 225 00:17:07,290 --> 00:17:10,490 Speaker 1: six or seven men in each. Chase is in one, 226 00:17:11,050 --> 00:17:14,650 Speaker 1: Captain Pollard in another, with his eighteen year old cousin. 227 00:17:15,370 --> 00:17:18,650 Speaker 1: Don't worry, Pollard had told the boy's mother back at home, 228 00:17:19,050 --> 00:17:23,570 Speaker 1: I'll look out for him. These boats are small and light. 229 00:17:24,250 --> 00:17:28,450 Speaker 1: They're designed for chasing and harpooning whales. They're not built 230 00:17:28,490 --> 00:17:32,610 Speaker 1: to traverse thousands of miles of open ocean, but that's 231 00:17:32,650 --> 00:17:36,490 Speaker 1: what they're going to have to do. The ship hasn't 232 00:17:36,570 --> 00:17:40,970 Speaker 1: yet fully sunk. The men can still clamber aboard the 233 00:17:41,010 --> 00:17:45,290 Speaker 1: wreckage and see what else they can salvage. They hack 234 00:17:45,330 --> 00:17:48,610 Speaker 1: off the masts and make smaller masts and sails for 235 00:17:48,650 --> 00:17:52,010 Speaker 1: their little boats. They find some food that's still above 236 00:17:52,050 --> 00:18:00,050 Speaker 1: the sea, hard dried bread, water, some turtles. They're useful turtles. 237 00:18:00,490 --> 00:18:03,730 Speaker 1: They survive for a long time without eating, so you 238 00:18:03,770 --> 00:18:06,170 Speaker 1: can take them on your ship and kill them when 239 00:18:06,210 --> 00:18:10,010 Speaker 1: you want fresh meat. Still, they only have a few, 240 00:18:10,650 --> 00:18:12,490 Speaker 1: and how long is it going to take them to 241 00:18:12,530 --> 00:18:16,410 Speaker 1: meet another ship or get to land. They portion up 242 00:18:16,490 --> 00:18:19,930 Speaker 1: the food and water between the boats, two turtles each, 243 00:18:20,530 --> 00:18:25,410 Speaker 1: and discuss their options. None of them are good. Aim 244 00:18:25,490 --> 00:18:28,490 Speaker 1: for the south, they decide, and hope to find westerly 245 00:18:28,530 --> 00:18:32,410 Speaker 1: winds that will blow them towards Chile or Peru, and 246 00:18:32,610 --> 00:18:36,890 Speaker 1: do some sums with a fair wind, they might hope 247 00:18:36,970 --> 00:18:40,930 Speaker 1: to reach land in a couple of months. They sleep, 248 00:18:41,490 --> 00:18:45,290 Speaker 1: or try to. In the morning, they set their sails 249 00:18:45,330 --> 00:18:48,490 Speaker 1: for the south. They've agreed that each man will have 250 00:18:48,570 --> 00:18:51,650 Speaker 1: a daily ration of about a pound of bread and 251 00:18:51,730 --> 00:18:56,370 Speaker 1: half a pint of water. Chase as a pistol. Try 252 00:18:56,370 --> 00:18:58,730 Speaker 1: to take more than your share, he says to his 253 00:18:58,770 --> 00:19:03,370 Speaker 1: boat mates, and I'll shoot you. But nobody does. They 254 00:19:03,410 --> 00:19:05,330 Speaker 1: all know they have to make their food and water 255 00:19:05,490 --> 00:19:09,810 Speaker 1: last if they're to have any chance of survival. A 256 00:19:09,890 --> 00:19:13,690 Speaker 1: day goes by, and another the wind gets up, The 257 00:19:13,770 --> 00:19:19,090 Speaker 1: sea swells away, crashes over the boat and soaks some 258 00:19:19,170 --> 00:19:23,450 Speaker 1: of the bread. When the sun comes out, they managed 259 00:19:23,490 --> 00:19:26,250 Speaker 1: to dry it again. They'd better eat that bread first, 260 00:19:26,330 --> 00:19:31,850 Speaker 1: as it'll spoil more quickly now it's so salty. The 261 00:19:31,890 --> 00:19:35,490 Speaker 1: thirst half a pint of water a day, they're allowed 262 00:19:35,570 --> 00:19:38,930 Speaker 1: no more. In a storm, they try to use the 263 00:19:38,970 --> 00:19:44,370 Speaker 1: sail to catch some rain water catt work. The sails 264 00:19:44,410 --> 00:19:47,770 Speaker 1: absorbed so much salt from being splashed by the sea 265 00:19:48,210 --> 00:19:51,930 Speaker 1: it makes the rain water salty too. They decide to 266 00:19:52,010 --> 00:19:56,170 Speaker 1: kill their first turtle and drink its blood. Some of 267 00:19:56,170 --> 00:19:58,610 Speaker 1: the men find it too revolting to swallow. 268 00:19:59,410 --> 00:20:02,930 Speaker 5: Not oh, in Chase, I took it like a medicine, 269 00:20:02,970 --> 00:20:06,610 Speaker 5: he said, to relieve the extreme dryness of my palate, 270 00:20:07,330 --> 00:20:09,610 Speaker 5: and stopped nat to inquire a weather where it was 271 00:20:09,890 --> 00:20:11,490 Speaker 5: anything else than a liquid. 272 00:20:12,330 --> 00:20:14,810 Speaker 1: They light a fire in the turtle shell to cook 273 00:20:14,850 --> 00:20:21,210 Speaker 1: its flesh. Tastes good days past. They lose the other 274 00:20:21,250 --> 00:20:25,170 Speaker 1: two boats in a storm, then find them again. A 275 00:20:25,170 --> 00:20:29,850 Speaker 1: shoal of tiny flying fish soar over the boat. Some 276 00:20:30,370 --> 00:20:33,450 Speaker 1: knock themselves out on the mast, and the men eat 277 00:20:33,530 --> 00:20:39,130 Speaker 1: them whole, scales, wings and all. Finally they finished the 278 00:20:39,170 --> 00:20:42,450 Speaker 1: salty bread. They're glad to start again on the bread 279 00:20:42,450 --> 00:20:46,210 Speaker 1: that didn't get a soaking. But then three weeks in 280 00:20:46,930 --> 00:20:52,330 Speaker 1: the weather turns calm, the sky blue the ocean still. 281 00:20:53,490 --> 00:20:58,210 Speaker 2: Chase says, we were exposed to the full force of 282 00:20:58,250 --> 00:21:01,690 Speaker 2: a meridian sun without any covering to shield us from 283 00:21:01,730 --> 00:21:05,410 Speaker 2: its burning influence, or the least breath of air to 284 00:21:05,530 --> 00:21:07,330 Speaker 2: cool its parching rays. 285 00:21:08,690 --> 00:21:14,130 Speaker 1: The heat makes the thirst unbearable again. They try drinking 286 00:21:14,170 --> 00:21:18,770 Speaker 1: their urine. It doesn't seem to help. They dangle themselves 287 00:21:18,770 --> 00:21:21,090 Speaker 1: over the edge of the boat to cool their bodies 288 00:21:21,130 --> 00:21:27,210 Speaker 1: in the sea. And what's this clams on the outside 289 00:21:27,210 --> 00:21:30,170 Speaker 1: of the boat. Who knew they were there? They rip 290 00:21:30,290 --> 00:21:33,410 Speaker 1: them off and eat them. In half an hour, they're 291 00:21:33,450 --> 00:21:39,330 Speaker 1: all gone. Day after day, the sea is calm. No 292 00:21:39,530 --> 00:21:44,690 Speaker 1: wind means no progress for the three small boats. They 293 00:21:44,730 --> 00:21:48,130 Speaker 1: try to row, but they don't have the strength. On 294 00:21:48,330 --> 00:21:52,850 Speaker 1: Chase's boat, they kill their second turtle. The bread and 295 00:21:52,890 --> 00:21:56,250 Speaker 1: the water are running out too quickly. They decide to 296 00:21:56,410 --> 00:22:01,290 Speaker 1: halve their rations. What other option is there? And then, 297 00:22:02,450 --> 00:22:06,450 Speaker 1: four weeks since the whale round their ship. A miracle, 298 00:22:07,010 --> 00:22:10,370 Speaker 1: or so it seems. From one of the boats comes 299 00:22:10,410 --> 00:22:14,130 Speaker 1: a shout, There is land. But what land is it? 300 00:22:15,050 --> 00:22:18,730 Speaker 1: Chase and the captain look in their nautical charts. It 301 00:22:18,810 --> 00:22:21,810 Speaker 1: must be one of the pit Cairns, a tiny island 302 00:22:21,970 --> 00:22:27,930 Speaker 1: just six miles across. They've sailed seventeen hundred miles from 303 00:22:27,930 --> 00:22:32,650 Speaker 1: where their ship sank. There's still three thousand miles from 304 00:22:32,690 --> 00:22:37,210 Speaker 1: South America. But they'll worry about that later. They sail 305 00:22:37,290 --> 00:22:41,450 Speaker 1: to the shore and land on the beach. There are crabs, 306 00:22:41,690 --> 00:22:45,130 Speaker 1: they eat them. There are fish. Chase knocks one out 307 00:22:45,170 --> 00:22:48,210 Speaker 1: with the butt of his gun. But eating just makes 308 00:22:48,250 --> 00:22:51,410 Speaker 1: them want to drink. Does this island not have any water? 309 00:22:52,170 --> 00:22:57,050 Speaker 2: Such an excessive and cruel thirst was created, says Chase. 310 00:22:57,730 --> 00:23:02,010 Speaker 2: The lips became cracked and swollen, and a sort of 311 00:23:02,850 --> 00:23:08,250 Speaker 2: glutenous saliva collected in the mouth, intolerable beyond expression. 312 00:23:09,450 --> 00:23:13,490 Speaker 1: Then they find a spring, gallons and gallons of water. 313 00:23:13,970 --> 00:23:17,610 Speaker 1: The men drink and drink. There are tropical birds on 314 00:23:17,650 --> 00:23:21,250 Speaker 1: this island. They've never seen humans, so they aren't afraid. 315 00:23:21,650 --> 00:23:24,530 Speaker 1: The men can walk right up and grab them. They 316 00:23:24,570 --> 00:23:28,090 Speaker 1: make a fire on the beach to roast them. They're delicious, 317 00:23:28,570 --> 00:23:29,250 Speaker 1: so are the birds. 318 00:23:29,290 --> 00:23:29,610 Speaker 3: Eggs. 319 00:23:30,250 --> 00:23:33,250 Speaker 1: With food and water, they can surely live here and 320 00:23:33,370 --> 00:23:38,290 Speaker 1: wait for another ship to pass, or can they. After 321 00:23:38,450 --> 00:23:42,410 Speaker 1: just a couple of days, the men realize they've already 322 00:23:42,450 --> 00:23:47,010 Speaker 1: eaten every bird on the island and every egg, so 323 00:23:47,810 --> 00:23:51,130 Speaker 1: there won't be any more birds. He might ask if 324 00:23:51,130 --> 00:23:54,730 Speaker 1: this is the story of humans and nature in microcosms, 325 00:23:55,210 --> 00:23:57,730 Speaker 1: But for the crew of the whaling ship. There's a 326 00:23:57,810 --> 00:24:03,210 Speaker 1: more urgent question, stay and hope to be rescued or 327 00:24:03,250 --> 00:24:06,490 Speaker 1: get back in the boats. Three of the men decide 328 00:24:06,490 --> 00:24:10,490 Speaker 1: to take their chances on the island. Others set sail 329 00:24:10,610 --> 00:24:19,490 Speaker 1: once more into the last Pacific cautionary tails or return. 330 00:24:31,890 --> 00:24:35,570 Speaker 1: Twenty twenty three, One night in May, off the Strait 331 00:24:35,610 --> 00:24:39,930 Speaker 1: of Gibraltar, a Swiss yacht called Champagne is sailing along 332 00:24:40,370 --> 00:24:43,730 Speaker 1: when suddenly there's a loud rumble. 333 00:24:44,490 --> 00:24:46,210 Speaker 4: I thought we'd hit something. 334 00:24:46,530 --> 00:24:53,490 Speaker 1: Says the skipper, But no, it was whales, one big 335 00:24:53,650 --> 00:24:59,730 Speaker 1: Orca and two little orcas. The attacks were brutal, says 336 00:24:59,770 --> 00:25:00,290 Speaker 1: the skipper. 337 00:25:00,570 --> 00:25:02,930 Speaker 4: The two little ones shook the rudder well. The big 338 00:25:02,970 --> 00:25:05,490 Speaker 4: one kept running and then rammed the ship from the 339 00:25:05,570 --> 00:25:07,090 Speaker 4: side with full force. 340 00:25:08,250 --> 00:25:12,410 Speaker 1: To killer whale snap off the Champagne bludder, making a 341 00:25:12,450 --> 00:25:16,890 Speaker 1: hole at the boat. It sinks. And it's not the 342 00:25:16,930 --> 00:25:19,850 Speaker 1: only time this has happened. In just a couple of years, 343 00:25:20,130 --> 00:25:24,570 Speaker 1: the Orcas near Gibraltar have slammed into hundreds of passing yachts. 344 00:25:25,490 --> 00:25:29,850 Speaker 1: This is completely new behavior. What's going on in the 345 00:25:29,890 --> 00:25:35,090 Speaker 1: heads of those whales. Users of the platform, then called 346 00:25:35,130 --> 00:25:41,970 Speaker 1: Twitter put forward a theory. It's an organized uprising socialist 347 00:25:42,050 --> 00:25:46,370 Speaker 1: whales attacking the yacht owning classes. They're joking, of course, 348 00:25:46,410 --> 00:25:49,930 Speaker 1: but the joke has an edge. It seems that a 349 00:25:49,970 --> 00:25:52,810 Speaker 1: lot of us feel so much guilt about what humans 350 00:25:52,850 --> 00:25:56,250 Speaker 1: have done to nature. We like the idea of killer 351 00:25:56,330 --> 00:26:01,250 Speaker 1: whales fighting back. The New Scientist felt the need to 352 00:26:01,330 --> 00:26:05,570 Speaker 1: report with a straight face that experts say there is 353 00:26:05,730 --> 00:26:10,810 Speaker 1: no evidence they are seeking vengeance. The Atlantic published a 354 00:26:10,850 --> 00:26:15,210 Speaker 1: think piece titled killer whales are not our friends. Stop 355 00:26:15,490 --> 00:26:20,610 Speaker 1: rooting for the orcas ramming boats. One popular tweet in response, 356 00:26:21,210 --> 00:26:27,130 Speaker 1: we deserve to have our boats round. Frankly, scientists who 357 00:26:27,250 --> 00:26:32,250 Speaker 1: study whales have other theories. Maybe one orca was hurt 358 00:26:32,290 --> 00:26:36,370 Speaker 1: once by a rudder and fought back. Orcas are social, 359 00:26:36,570 --> 00:26:40,330 Speaker 1: They learn from each other. They're curious too. Maybe they've 360 00:26:40,370 --> 00:26:44,010 Speaker 1: discovered that rudders are fun to play with. Or maybe 361 00:26:44,090 --> 00:26:48,730 Speaker 1: it's a cultural fad. Orcas have them. Years ago. One 362 00:26:48,850 --> 00:26:52,370 Speaker 1: pod in the Pacific briefly took to carrying around dead 363 00:26:52,450 --> 00:26:56,890 Speaker 1: salmon on their heads like a hat. Or are we 364 00:26:57,290 --> 00:27:04,250 Speaker 1: anthropomorphizing again? Not all scientists think anthropomorphism is always a 365 00:27:04,250 --> 00:27:08,370 Speaker 1: bad thing. The primatologist Franz de While says that what 366 00:27:08,410 --> 00:27:12,970 Speaker 1: we want to have a void is anthroper centric anthropomorphism. 367 00:27:13,130 --> 00:27:15,290 Speaker 1: That's a bit of a mouthful. What he means is 368 00:27:15,930 --> 00:27:20,210 Speaker 1: starting from a human viewpoint when seeing similarities between ourselves 369 00:27:20,570 --> 00:27:23,770 Speaker 1: and other animals. That's the kind of thinking that gets 370 00:27:23,810 --> 00:27:28,410 Speaker 1: us socialist whales attacking the rich. In contrast, says de 371 00:27:28,530 --> 00:27:34,770 Speaker 1: while animal centric anthropomorphism can generate useful research ideas. That's 372 00:27:34,810 --> 00:27:37,850 Speaker 1: when we start with the animal's viewpoint. We try to 373 00:27:37,890 --> 00:27:41,130 Speaker 1: put ourselves in their position as best we can and 374 00:27:41,210 --> 00:27:45,210 Speaker 1: ask ourselves if our human experiences might help us understand 375 00:27:45,290 --> 00:27:48,650 Speaker 1: what their life is like. We know what it means 376 00:27:48,690 --> 00:27:52,690 Speaker 1: as humans to be curious and playful. It's reasonable to 377 00:27:52,730 --> 00:27:56,490 Speaker 1: think that might shed some light on the whales behavior too. 378 00:27:57,330 --> 00:28:01,290 Speaker 1: We need to find a balance. Too much anthropomorphizing can 379 00:28:01,410 --> 00:28:07,010 Speaker 1: lead us astray, but so can its opposite, dogmatically refusing 380 00:28:07,090 --> 00:28:11,290 Speaker 1: to see any commonality between ourselves and other animals. There 381 00:28:11,330 --> 00:28:14,770 Speaker 1: was no word for that mistake, says Deuarle, so he 382 00:28:14,890 --> 00:28:19,970 Speaker 1: made one up athropo denial. We've already seen an example. 383 00:28:20,650 --> 00:28:25,850 Speaker 1: Remember the article in Awesomeocean dot com that criticized the 384 00:28:25,890 --> 00:28:28,970 Speaker 1: makers of the movie Blackfish for showing footage of an 385 00:28:29,050 --> 00:28:33,330 Speaker 1: open mouthed whale, as a former trainer described the grief 386 00:28:33,490 --> 00:28:36,250 Speaker 1: of a mother whale whose baby had been taken away. 387 00:28:36,970 --> 00:28:40,290 Speaker 1: That whale wasn't crying through her mouth, says the article. 388 00:28:40,930 --> 00:28:44,930 Speaker 1: All sound is created through the blowhole, which is fair 389 00:28:45,090 --> 00:28:48,490 Speaker 1: enough as far as it goes. We can't conclude anything 390 00:28:48,490 --> 00:28:51,850 Speaker 1: from the footage of the whale's mouth, but that doesn't 391 00:28:51,890 --> 00:28:56,530 Speaker 1: take away the trainer's description. She stayed in the corner 392 00:28:56,570 --> 00:29:01,610 Speaker 1: of the pool like literally just shaking and screaming, screeching high. 393 00:29:01,730 --> 00:29:07,010 Speaker 1: There was nothing you could call it besides grief. The 394 00:29:07,050 --> 00:29:11,530 Speaker 1: whale's reaction to her baby being taken looks very similar 395 00:29:11,570 --> 00:29:15,370 Speaker 1: to how a human mother would react. Closing our minds 396 00:29:15,410 --> 00:29:28,130 Speaker 1: to that parallel seems like anthropo denial. Two weeks after 397 00:29:28,170 --> 00:29:31,890 Speaker 1: the three boats leave the island, the first man dies. 398 00:29:33,210 --> 00:29:37,250 Speaker 1: They bring all three boats together and with solemn words, 399 00:29:37,570 --> 00:29:42,010 Speaker 1: they cast his body into the ocean. They're still very 400 00:29:42,050 --> 00:29:46,890 Speaker 1: far from land. The bread's running low, so they agree 401 00:29:46,930 --> 00:29:50,330 Speaker 1: to cut their rations again, just an ounce and a 402 00:29:50,370 --> 00:29:54,250 Speaker 1: half of bread per man per day. The sun is 403 00:29:54,570 --> 00:29:56,890 Speaker 1: so fierce, says Chase. 404 00:29:58,130 --> 00:30:00,530 Speaker 2: We would lie down at the bottom of the boat 405 00:30:01,050 --> 00:30:04,770 Speaker 2: and cover ourselves over with the sails and abandon her 406 00:30:04,850 --> 00:30:08,810 Speaker 2: to the mercy of the waves. Upon attempting to rise again, 407 00:30:09,130 --> 00:30:12,690 Speaker 2: the blood would rush into the head, and an intoxicating 408 00:30:12,770 --> 00:30:14,250 Speaker 2: blindness come over us. 409 00:30:16,370 --> 00:30:21,570 Speaker 1: Another day and another a storm, the boats get separated again, 410 00:30:22,090 --> 00:30:24,450 Speaker 1: and this time he can't find each other when the 411 00:30:24,490 --> 00:30:29,250 Speaker 1: storm clears. Now, oh In, Chase and his four companions 412 00:30:30,370 --> 00:30:35,330 Speaker 1: are on their own. One day, a shark circles their boat, 413 00:30:35,850 --> 00:30:39,850 Speaker 1: bumping up against it. They try to stab it, but 414 00:30:39,930 --> 00:30:44,010 Speaker 1: they don't have the strength to pierce its skin. Another 415 00:30:44,090 --> 00:30:48,250 Speaker 1: day brings a shoal of porpoises and frolic around them. 416 00:30:48,410 --> 00:30:53,450 Speaker 1: He can't stab any of those either. One of Chase's 417 00:30:53,450 --> 00:30:58,010 Speaker 1: boat mates calmly says, no bread for me. I've decided 418 00:30:58,010 --> 00:31:04,370 Speaker 1: to die, and so he does, quickly and peacefully. The 419 00:31:04,450 --> 00:31:11,330 Speaker 1: others solemnly throw his body to the waves. 420 00:31:09,130 --> 00:31:12,490 Speaker 2: Sufferings who were now drawing to a close. It seemed 421 00:31:12,530 --> 00:31:16,930 Speaker 2: to Chase a terrible death appeared shortly to await us. 422 00:31:17,370 --> 00:31:23,370 Speaker 2: Hunger became violent and outrageous, Our speech and reason were 423 00:31:23,410 --> 00:31:25,130 Speaker 2: both considerably impaired. 424 00:31:27,290 --> 00:31:31,770 Speaker 1: Then they hear a noise that seems to sharpen their thoughts. 425 00:31:32,410 --> 00:31:38,130 Speaker 1: The thrashing of tails, the spouting of blow holes, whales, 426 00:31:39,650 --> 00:31:44,610 Speaker 1: the men are gripped with fear as their vengeful attackers 427 00:31:44,690 --> 00:31:47,330 Speaker 1: somehow tracked them down. We must row, they say, to 428 00:31:47,370 --> 00:31:51,490 Speaker 1: get away. They try, but none can lift it all. 429 00:31:57,570 --> 00:32:02,330 Speaker 1: When Blackfish aired on CNN in twenty thirteen, it caused 430 00:32:02,450 --> 00:32:07,570 Speaker 1: a sensation. Twenty one million people viewed it within a month, 431 00:32:08,130 --> 00:32:14,770 Speaker 1: an extraordinary figure for a documentary. Three years later, SeaWorld 432 00:32:14,770 --> 00:32:18,890 Speaker 1: announced that it would no longer breed orcas in captivity. 433 00:32:20,130 --> 00:32:26,730 Speaker 1: Still there's no international ban. Dozens of orcas still perform 434 00:32:26,850 --> 00:32:31,450 Speaker 1: for tourists in theme parks around the world, including Tillicum's 435 00:32:31,450 --> 00:32:37,570 Speaker 1: grandson Truer. Granddad. Tillicum himself passed away in twenty seventeen 436 00:32:38,130 --> 00:32:42,730 Speaker 1: at the age of thirty five. In science, the debate 437 00:32:42,770 --> 00:32:48,210 Speaker 1: about anthropomorphism rumbles on. It's clearly hard to resist the 438 00:32:48,290 --> 00:32:51,610 Speaker 1: kind of lazy thinking that brings us the communist orcas 439 00:32:51,610 --> 00:32:56,010 Speaker 1: in Gibraltar and the reaka of vengeance Moby Dick. So 440 00:32:56,690 --> 00:33:01,890 Speaker 1: how can we keep our anthropomorphism animal centric? I think 441 00:33:02,170 --> 00:33:07,090 Speaker 1: Owen Chase's story points us towards the answer. It shows 442 00:33:07,170 --> 00:33:10,530 Speaker 1: us the power of human empathy. Very few of us 443 00:33:10,530 --> 00:33:14,770 Speaker 1: have ever experienced anything as extreme as Chase. But when 444 00:33:14,810 --> 00:33:18,010 Speaker 1: we hear his story. We're there in the boat with him. 445 00:33:18,490 --> 00:33:21,650 Speaker 1: We get what he went through. We need to try 446 00:33:21,690 --> 00:33:25,930 Speaker 1: to extend some of the same empathy to intelligent animals 447 00:33:26,090 --> 00:33:31,250 Speaker 1: such as wales. But Chase's story also shows us why 448 00:33:31,330 --> 00:33:35,370 Speaker 1: we find that hard. We consense that wales are smart, 449 00:33:36,250 --> 00:33:39,570 Speaker 1: As the former trainer on Blackfish said, when you look 450 00:33:39,610 --> 00:33:44,730 Speaker 1: into their eyes, you know somebody's home. But their intelligence 451 00:33:44,970 --> 00:33:49,090 Speaker 1: evolved in the vastness of the ocean, a place that's 452 00:33:49,130 --> 00:33:53,970 Speaker 1: so utterly inhospitable for us, it may as well be 453 00:33:54,090 --> 00:34:00,050 Speaker 1: an alien intelligence from another planet. Empathy comes easily with 454 00:34:00,250 --> 00:34:05,210 Speaker 1: other humans with other kinds of intelligence. We really have 455 00:34:05,330 --> 00:34:12,450 Speaker 1: to work at it. The passing whales had no interest 456 00:34:12,530 --> 00:34:17,130 Speaker 1: in owen Chase's boat. Why would they? For The next 457 00:34:17,330 --> 00:34:22,610 Speaker 1: death on board is gruesome. It takes hours, the dying 458 00:34:22,690 --> 00:34:27,890 Speaker 1: man convulsing and groaning in pain. Just three men left now, 459 00:34:29,090 --> 00:34:34,170 Speaker 1: and this time none of them suggest respectfully consigning the 460 00:34:34,330 --> 00:34:36,970 Speaker 1: newly dead body to the sea. 461 00:34:38,250 --> 00:34:45,370 Speaker 2: We eagerly devoured the heart Chase recalls and ate a 462 00:34:45,410 --> 00:34:49,890 Speaker 2: few pieces of the flesh, after which we hung up 463 00:34:49,930 --> 00:34:54,130 Speaker 2: the remainder, cut in thin strips about the boat to 464 00:34:54,250 --> 00:34:55,050 Speaker 2: dry in the sun. 465 00:34:57,090 --> 00:35:01,570 Speaker 1: The next day, the strips of human flesh are turning green. 466 00:35:02,730 --> 00:35:05,570 Speaker 1: They make a fire and cook it to preserve it. 467 00:35:06,970 --> 00:35:12,050 Speaker 1: Chase doesn't know it. But elsewhere on the ocean, Captain Pollard, 468 00:35:12,450 --> 00:35:15,530 Speaker 1: his eighteen year old cousin, and the other two remaining 469 00:35:15,530 --> 00:35:19,690 Speaker 1: men on their boat face an even more wrenching predicament. 470 00:35:20,730 --> 00:35:27,210 Speaker 1: They're all starving, but all still stubbornly alive. They agreed 471 00:35:27,250 --> 00:35:31,290 Speaker 1: to draw lots to decide who will be shot so 472 00:35:31,450 --> 00:35:42,410 Speaker 1: the others can eat him. Owen Chase survived, of course, 473 00:35:42,930 --> 00:35:47,570 Speaker 1: to tell his story. Still hundreds of miles from the coast, 474 00:35:47,890 --> 00:35:52,250 Speaker 1: their tiny boat chanced across another ship. They must have 475 00:35:52,290 --> 00:35:54,930 Speaker 1: looked a piteous sight, says Chase. 476 00:35:56,530 --> 00:36:04,170 Speaker 2: Our cadaverous countenances sunken highs, the ragged remnants of clothes 477 00:36:04,330 --> 00:36:06,290 Speaker 2: stuck about our sunburnt bodies. 478 00:36:07,850 --> 00:36:13,770 Speaker 1: Incredibly, the captain's boat also encountered a ship. He got 479 00:36:13,810 --> 00:36:16,890 Speaker 1: to go back home and test the limits of human 480 00:36:16,930 --> 00:36:22,530 Speaker 1: empathy by explaining to his family how he'd come to 481 00:36:22,650 --> 00:36:36,210 Speaker 1: eat his cousin. This episode of Cautionary Tales was inspired 482 00:36:36,250 --> 00:36:40,130 Speaker 1: in part by Blackfish, which is currently available on Netflix. 483 00:36:41,370 --> 00:36:44,650 Speaker 1: Owen Chase's book is called The Narrative of the Most 484 00:36:44,730 --> 00:36:49,210 Speaker 1: extraordinary and distressing shipwreck of the whale Ship Essex. For 485 00:36:49,290 --> 00:36:51,930 Speaker 1: a full list of our sources, please see the show 486 00:36:51,970 --> 00:37:02,810 Speaker 1: notes at Timharford dot com. Cautionary Tales is written by 487 00:37:02,850 --> 00:37:06,250 Speaker 1: me Tim Harford with Andrew Wright. It's produced by Alice 488 00:37:06,250 --> 00:37:10,450 Speaker 1: Fines with support from Marilyn Rust. Sound design and original 489 00:37:10,530 --> 00:37:14,650 Speaker 1: music is the work of Pascal Wise. Sarah Nix edited 490 00:37:14,690 --> 00:37:17,970 Speaker 1: the scripts. It features the voice talents of Ben Crowe, 491 00:37:18,210 --> 00:37:23,090 Speaker 1: Melanie Gushridge, Stella Harford, Jemma Saunders and rufus Wright. The 492 00:37:23,130 --> 00:37:26,010 Speaker 1: show also wouldn't have been possible without the work of 493 00:37:26,130 --> 00:37:31,450 Speaker 1: Jacob Weisberg, Ryan Dilly, Greta Cohne, Diteal Millard, John Schnaz, 494 00:37:31,850 --> 00:37:36,770 Speaker 1: Eric's handler, Carrie Brody, and Christina Sullivan. Cautionary Tales is 495 00:37:36,810 --> 00:37:40,890 Speaker 1: a production of Pushkin Industries. It's recorded at ward Or 496 00:37:40,970 --> 00:37:44,890 Speaker 1: Studios in London by Tom Berry. If you like the show, 497 00:37:45,250 --> 00:37:49,850 Speaker 1: please remember to share, rate and review, tell your friends 498 00:37:50,370 --> 00:37:52,250 Speaker 1: and if you want to hear the show ad free 499 00:37:52,530 --> 00:37:55,570 Speaker 1: sign up for Pushkin Plus on the show page in 500 00:37:55,690 --> 00:38:15,210 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin dot fm, slash plus