Orca

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ORCA:

- Hey, Nolan! Can you see anything?

- Not even a great white flounder.

Shark's fin at ten o'clock!

And it's a whopper!

Keep it this side of the ship.

Sheer off at 200 yards.

Gus, pitch it something to eat.

- Keep off, there's a diver down!

- Paul, keep him to the portside.

- Look out!

- Paul, hard to port!

Any fella dumb enough to dive

when there's a great...

Nice going, baby. You just cost us

a quarter of a million bucks.

It's true. We get 10,000 a foot

for a shark. He was at least 25.

- 50 foot he was...

- He's coming back!

Climb aboard.

- Paul, pour on the coal!

- I'll come back to get you.

Fin at two o'clock.

- Look! That eejit's in the water.

- Ken, get back in the boat!

Only one creature in the world

can do that. A killer whale.

This is the most powerful animal

on the globe. The killer whale.

A mammal with warm blood,

found in every sea.

The Romans called it Orca Orcinus,

"the bringer of death".

His tapered form and muscular fin

make it the fastest moving whale.

The adult male measures

around 30 feet and weighs six tons, -

- though some run to 45 feet.

Here's a killer whale in familiar

guise:
tamed, on exhibition.

If treated with kindness,

there is no greater friend to man.

But if not...

The orca has 48 teeth

set in two impressive rows.

Killer whales are better parents

than most human beings.

And like human beings,

they have an instinct for vengeance.

But the most amazing thing is neither

gentleness nor violence, -

- but their brains.

Slides please, Ken.

These brains are of a monkey,

a human being, and a killer whale.

We know little about its intelligence

except that it is powerful, -

- and in some respects

may even be superior to man.

A four-month-old foetus,

incredibly like that of a human.

It even has two hands,

with five fingers on each.

Whales talk.

They communicate -

- by sounds and

sonar echolocation.

These whale sounds

contain wavelengths -

- that can travel across an ocean,

but also around the world.

This was recorded under water

and analyzed by computers.

It contains 15 million pieces of

information. The Bible has 4 million.

What are they saying? Do they have

to say anything to communicate?

Their sonar is like X-ray vision.

If we could see in each other -

- if someone was happy or sad,

indifferent or aroused, -

- healthy or suffering from a tumor, -

- it would be meaningless to say,

"How are you?"

What we call language they might

call unnecessary, or retarded.

I noticed that my lectures gained

a new and attentive member: Nolan.

He began asking me

at odd hours about the orcas, -

- and occasionally about me.

His ignorance surprised me.

The fact that an experienced

fsherman knew so little amazed me.

His curiosity made him seem

vulnerable, and even attractive.

Or I had been in Newfoundland

for too long.

Nothing interests fshermen unless

they want to catch it, or kill it.

You're not building a holding pen?

When you pumped me

about killer whales, -

- it wasn't to improve your mind,

if any.

The lucky lad will have a long

and happy life in some aquarium.

- How much will you get for him?

- Enough.

- Nolan, there's a word for you.

- I've been called it many times.

You plan to sell a creature like you?

A warm-blooded, intelligent mammal!

- He communicates.

- Does he now?

Look at me.

You think I'm pulling your leg?

No, but you're one hell of a girl to

sleep in a tent with a tape recorder.

Did I tell you that that animal

has a right to be left alone?

No, but I suppose you're about to.

These animals are too big and too

smart. They live in constant motion.

It's worse than a lion in a cage.

Not to be screwed around with.

That's a dangerous word to use

around a fellow like me.

You'll never catch a killer whale.

Is there any way

I can make you give up?

There's one you might try.

But I guess it's out of the question.

If that's what it takes...

If you think I can't catch one,

why are you so upset?

You won't catch one, but you

might butcher a few in the attempt.

- That's not my style.

- So you refuse to quit?

That's not my style either. Especially

when a pretty girl tells me -

- that I'm dumber than a fish.

Lots of bad luck.

How many c cs in the harpoons?

A whale is twice the size of a shark,

so we use twice as much.

- Nolan?

- What?

- Killer whales are monogamous.

- What?

They stick with one mate.

We could bust up a happy family.

You continue what you're doing

and bring it up.

Killer whales ahead!

We're off to the races, boys!

Annie, bring up the doped heads.

Here, take over.

Oh boy, look at them!

Don't approach them

like a bull in a china shop.

Let me take over.

Merciful God, what's that?

You missed the male.

You hit the female.

- He sounds almost human.

- It's a her. You can tell by the fin.

Paul, astern!

Paul, full ahead!

She's coming back.

She's trying to kill herself.

Stop the engines. Novak!

Help me get this crazy fish on board.

- Sling's tight.

- Haul away, Paul.

When she's clear,

we'll swing her inboard.

- She's losing a lot of blood.

- I know.

- Get her off my ship!

- The cable has jammed the boom.

It's okay.

It's gone.

You flushed it over.

- What did we hit?

- I don't know.

Charts.

Paul, check the radar.

- Nothing.

- Check the depth.

85 fathoms.

The chart says the same thing,

and there isn't a reef for five miles.

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