Mystery of Old Thom: the Orca Who Lives With Dolphins

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00:00 - Old Thom, the Lone Orca Who Swims With Dolphins
02:48 - Why Does Old Thom Live With Dolphins?
05:45 - Orcas VS Humpback Whales
07:33 - Do Dolphin Species Interact With Each Other?
09:15 - Do Orcas Have Cultures?

Orcas are highly social animals who typically live in close knit family groups, but Old Thom has never been seen with another killer whale. He’s usually seen with a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. This phenomenon is called a “Mix Species Group” which is when different species “interact in close spatial proximity due to a mutual attraction derived from evolutionary grouping benefits.” Mutual attraction is the key distinction. Most witnesses have described Old Thom and his white-sided dolphins as "affiliative." There are reports of Thom and the dolphins socializing and even feeding alongside each other.

Why isn’t Old Thom with other killer whales? Why has he chosen to socialize with white-sided dolphins? Why aren’t the dolphins afraid of him? After all, orcas prey on smaller dolphins in many places of the world. Can modern science and research shed light on what is really going on here?

Sources
[1] https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/...
[2] https://www.the-scientist.com/bottlen...
[3] https://mymodernmet.com/old-thom-lone...
[4] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles...
[5] https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/loc...
[6] https://baleinesendirect.org/en/les-e...
[7] https://nsv.is/wp-content/uploads/202...
[8] https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139...
[9] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/...
[10] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...
[11] https://www.newsweek.com/killer-whale...
[12] https://oceanographicmagazine.com/new...
[13] https://www.aquaticmammalsjournal.org...
[14] https://www.zoology.ubc.ca/~barrett/d...
[15] https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...
[16] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-s...
[17] https://www.researchgate.net/figure/A...
  / the-people-who-treat-their-roombas-like-fa...  
[18] https://cottagelife.com/general/meet-...
[19] https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/ne...
[19]    • Killer whale 'Old Thom' spotted swimming w...  
[20] https://www.boston25news.com/news/loc...
[21]    • Aquarium Researchers Encounter Old Thom  
[22]    • What do killer whales eat in the North Atl...  
[23]    • Orca and humpback feasting on herring  
[24]    • polar bear unwillingly shares breakfast  
[25]    • Killer whale 'Old Thom' spotted swimming w...  
[26]   / 1387665398992754  
[27] https://happywhale.com/individual/104...
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