Killer Whales: Up Close and Personal

During four years of shooting in the icy waters that surround the volcanic archipelago of the Crozet Islands, we have followed the trial and tribulations of Delphine, a young female adolescent killer whale. Living and growing within her family group she gradually learns how to find her bearings, how to hunt king penguins or Minke rorquals and how to get stranded in order to catch sea elephants.
Director : Bertrand LOYER

[loyerbertrand]

Thanks all for your comments. I am the director of this film which was shot 23 years ago. I am glad to let you know that Delphine is still alive and is now the mother of 3 calves. We are returning again in Nov, 2023 in Crozet to meet her, and see how she now teaches her young to catch elephant seals on the beach. There is now 5 time more elephant seals than when we were shooting the film, so the intentional beaching technique is a skill that many orcas practice. To answer other questions I have seen, I shot the orca sharing the minke whale without any particular protection: the orcas were even pushing the carcass towards me as if to say " you want some ? please share that meal with us !" They even brought me pectoral fins of elephant seals, and were scouting at me when I was entering the water to pick up the RHIB we used for filming. Unfortunately, there is no making of footage of this, but we will make some this year !

[ecoll]

Delphine kept me stressed this whole video. 😂😩 She has the best orca mom ever! This was a really good doc. I love Orcas so much.

[willhickey]

I was so sad when the little one was lost in the kelp. Then I seen the whole pod coming back for her and was relieved. Such cunning and beautiful animals.

[SalmanAli-pnlq]

I'm fascinated by how patient her mother is with her naughtiness

[YaYa-kezr]

Delphine needs her own reality show.

I’d watch. It would be a new dangerous adventure every episode. Full of dangers and parties.

[VaBeachBeach]

Orcas are so smart. Imagine the mom teaching her to stay in one place if she is lost. That means they had to teach her in a hypothetical situation kinda thing, like teaching a human child to dial 911 if someone is injured. Amazing.

[lokismom]

When you watch this, see how the love and bond these beautiful creatures have as a family, it's even harder to see them captured. When you see how the older ones protect, love and teach the young. The way they stay with their families. Its a beautiful society, a society that humans should take note of. Thank you for a beautiful look into the amazing life of an orca.

[stevestewart]

Thanks for all the nice comments, it took us 3 months to make this film. We hope you all enjoy as much as we did.

[brittwilliams]

I almost cried when Delphine was stuck but her mom came in to talk to her to show her how to free herself she has the best mom

[Moslk]

Remember watching the exact documentary when I was a child. Now nearly 20 years later I‘m so happy to find this great film again❤

[larrylaurenzi]

The greatest lesson ever taught “when lost stay still”.

[TanyaQueen]

By far the best documentary about Orcas I've ever seen. The way the family teaches the youngsters, the way they celebrate together and hunt together. It's never easy to see a penguin or seal turn into lunch, but Orcas gotta eat too. :) This was so great I'm going to recommend this video to everyone!

[kimichan]

It’s incredible how patient the mother is with Delphine! Every time she gets lost, the mother rushes over and is so happy to see her wayward daughter! ❤

[ievgeniagodynskyi]

"As a tiny calf she was stranded and rescued by the French scientists. Since that day the whole family has trusted divers unusually close".
Intelligent animal could appreciate the act of kindness. This is amazing!❤

[michaelnavarette]

I went to sea world when I was around 9 years old. Immediately I realized these beautiful creatures didn’t belong in captivity. I’ll never go back. Thank you for showing me this. Their beautiful.

[lennarthagen]

Holding these wonderful Orcas captive is EVIL. They are not PETS for humans to laugh and gawk at(unbelievable). They are sea mammals and are highly intelligent and they are not whales but the largest of the Dolphin family.

[geenadasilva]

how beautiful! Delphine is my kind of girl: a constant trial but how touching to see her finally learn and take the first steps into adulthood.

[rachelkristine]

Delphines loneliness & terror, while trapped in the kelp bed, must be how Keiko & Tilly felt, while locked up ALONE, in a damn box, thousands of miles away from their ARE EVIL! 😔

[trishdadish]

Such an amazing documentary of this beautiful family. I can’t believe it was 23 yrs ago, WOW! Orca’s in all their wit and strength show the ability to love and invite us humans to their pod. It’s just breathtakingly beautiful to watch this, unreal footage. The respect you show this pod is clearly understood and reciprocated. What an honor it was to watch this, thank you. Can’t wait for the next documentary.

[MermaidMusings]

Thank you for this incredible video. Seeing Delphine and her family reminded me of Lolita and hers. Lolita is a Southern Resident captured in 1970 in Puget Sound, Washington. She has been living in the smallest orca tank in the world at the Miami Seaquarium for over 50 years. Lolita's ecotype, Southern Residents, are the most studied orca population in the world. Family members stay together their entire lives. L25 Ocean Sun, Lolita's mother, is estimated to be over 90 years old. Lolita had an older sister named Tsunami, who died in 1982. Ocean Sun has no immediate family left, but she has been taken in by another pod as their adoptive grandmother. She doesn't even know her daughter is still alive.

Corky is the oldest orca in captivity. She is a Northern Resident from the A5 pod, A23 matriline. She was captured in 1969 in British Columbia. Corky's younger sister, Ripple, is now the leader of the pod. Other members include Corky's younger brother Fife, niece Midsummer, great-nephews Fern and Ne'nakw, and great-niece Eliot.