Orcas utilise countershading as camouflage, as their black back makes them less visible from above and their white belly makes them less visible from below. This facilitates hunting. When hunting baleen whales, which range from in size, the pod would divide into three groups. One group stayed in the open ocean, hindering escape, the second swam underneath the baleen whale to prevent it from diving deep, and the third attacked the whale. Attacks consisted of biting at the lips and fins, in addition to leaping on to the blowhole to drown the whale. After the whale was trapped in the bay, Old Tom would usually swim in front of the Davidson whaling station and perform "flop-tailing" to get the attention of the onshore whalers. Flop tailing describes the act of a whale slapping its tail on the water's surface. The sound of flop-tailing was followed by yells of "Rusho" on land, calling whalers to go out to sea. The whalers would then row out and harpoon the baleen whale.
