Pelorus Jack: Best Known Fish in the World

One famous dolphin lived near the shores of New Zealand in the late 1800s, and swam alongside hundreds of ships, becoming a beloved figure to locals and foreigners alike, and described as ”the best known fish in the world.”

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This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.

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Script by JCG

#history #thehistoryguy #dolphin

[corrbhan]

Reminds me of Fungie, a dolphin that made Dingle Harbour in Ireland his home for decades, always happily showing up for boats with tourists. Fungie is believed to have died or moved elsewhere in 2020.

[StevenDietrich-kw]

I was rushing to the comments to see how many "dolphins aren't fish" comments there were, only for THG to set the record straight in the first few moments. Darn! The uproar would have been hilarious.

[HMSGT]

🎼🎵 *_They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning. No one under the sea is faster than he_* 🎶 😊

[ghowell]

There's nothing like an historical fish tale to start the weekend! Thanks, sir. My whole family loves your content!

[bigsarge]

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

[johngregg]

This is what I would call a porpoise-led life... lol

[steamyb]

So did Jack guide pirates or not?
"All good stories have pirates in them', right?

[jamessmith]

Tears in the eyes for these wonderful super loving, and smart creatures that have enriched our lives for millinium. Love them!!

[trespire]

In the 90's I had the honour of spending time with Oleen, a female wild dolphine living in Nuweba in the Sinai.
She was clearly highly intellegent. When I looked into her eyes, I saw intellegence looking back at me. There was some one home and the lights were on.
Never experience anything like that with any other creature. May she rest in peace dear Oleen. I will always remember you.

[davidjernigan]

Bow wave riding. It's a common thing that dolphins do. They do it a lot with submarines transiting on the surface due to the large bow wave that the sonar dome produces.

[kali]

I love the story of Pelorus Jack. Thank you for focusing on this one.

[rayvandenberg]

what a great history story! In the scope of historical context, it is small...maybe that is what actually makes it great.

[goodun]

The harbor porpoise of Maine and coastal Canada is only about 4 feet long! We saw several while on a cruise boat around Acadia National Park.

[agbook]

Good morning! Nothing like a fresh historical story. 👍

[goodun]

Dolphins have also been known to protect swimmers from sharks.

[Oxnate]

Everyone loves the king of the sea
Ever so kind and gentle is he
Tricks he will do when children appear
And how they laugh when he's near
They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning
No one, you see, is smarter than he
And we know Flipper lives in a world full of wonder
Flying there under, under the sea

[alluigi]

This is a very good show to watch about a variety of history topics. The narrator does an excellent job, keeping the story interesting as well as understood. Keep up the great work.

[capnstewy]

"I wanna fight ya" says the Rizzo's dolphin.

[StevenDietrich-kw]

Pretty cool that New Zealand immortalizes this animal on the side of its ferry's. I wonder if the majority of Kiwi's know why the dolphin is pictured on the side?

[yakacm]

Here's something for you. Did you know that, Greeks don't pronounce Crete like English speakers do, they say it something like, Kreta. Well that's how Takis from Takis Shelter says it, and he was born and still lives on Crete.