April 28, 2025 - The T071Bs and T086As travelling in Sansum Narrows
The wind was blowing and the rain was pouring down as we left the dock. We decided to duck into the Southern Gulf Islands for some more sheltered waters from the wind. Inside the islands were flat calm waters, and we began to search for some whales.
We got a vague report of possible orcas around Sansum Narrows, and so we headed that way. The heavy rains made spotting a little tricky, and after some searching, we almost gave up. Captain Rodrigo gave us one final attempt to find the whales before we abandoned the report, and luckily this time we were successful in finding the T086As and T071Bs!!
T071B Hood ♀ (2000)
T071B1 Zengo ♀ (2013)
T071B2 Tasli/Nemo ♂ (2018)
T086A Eider ♀ (1988)
T086A4 Akia ♀ (2016)
T086A5 (2024)
It was wonderful to see Zengo and Tasli back with their mother, Hood. We had some interesting family dynamics last year with these two matrilines. Let’s break down what happened. Hood had a new calf last year, and while this wouldn’t usually cause older siblings to disperse, both Zengo and Tasli left Hood. At the same time, Eider was having her own family drama. Eider and her two oldest daughters (Nahanni and Tyndall) all had calves at the same time. Whether Eider pushed her daughters and new grandcalves out or her daughters chose to leave, we will never know, but what we do know is that her daughters left with their brand new calves.
Infant mortality rate in orcas is high in the first year and we typically see females help with the daughters’ first calves. For Tyndall, last year’s calf was her very first, but because Eider had her own new calf to deal with Tyndall was on her own. Luckily, she wasn’t completely alone because our wayward duo Tasli and Zengo, decided to team up with Tyndall all summer (click here for last summer’s blog).
Seeing Tasli and Zengo back with their mother is bittersweet. We love that the family has been reunited, but unfortunately, their youngest sibling was a victim of that high calf mortality rate and did not survive, which we realized on this trip when only Eider’s calf was present.
On top of seeing orca today, we were also lucky enough to see a whole host of other wildlife, including Steller sea lions, California sea lions, harbour seals and some very wet eagles!
Please enjoy these photos taken by naturalist Aly Kohlman.
T71B1 Zengo coming up in heavy rain.
Group photo from left to right: T71B1 Zengo, T86A5, T71B Hood, T86A Eider, and T86A4 Akia.
Notice how orange T86A5 still is? When baby orca are first born they have little to no fat on their bodies which gives that orange appearance. As they age the white spots will appear more white.
Did you know that the white eyepatch is not actually the orcas eye? Look just below the front of T86A5’s eyepatch and you might be able to they have their eye closed! They are close behind their mother T086A Eider.
Every eyepatch is unique and we can use them to identify individuals like T86A5 who was travelling close to their mother T086A Eider.
We can use dorsal fins to ID individuals, this dorsal fin belongs to T086A Eider. She has two small distinct chunks missing.
Baby orca spend a lot of time traveling in echelon position, this is where they ride in the slip stream behind moms dorsal fin (pictured T86A5 behind T086A Eider).
Matriarch T071B Hood coming up for a breath.
T86A5 trying to keep up with mom.
T085A traveling with her youngest T86A5.
We can use the markings on saddle patches to ID the whales. This saddle patch belongs to T071B Hood.
Orca exhibit something called counter shading where they are dark on top and light on their bellies. This makes it difficult for prey to see them. (T086A5 following T086A)
T071B Hood
A young male Steller sea lion looking over a cuddle puddle.
Steller sea lions on their haul out.
Steller sea lions are surprisingly agile on land.
California sea lions snuggling on a rainy day.
All these sea lions are males! You can tell by looking at their sagittal crest.
Sea lions have nails 1/3rd the way up their back flippers, this guy is giving himself a scratch!
A chunky harbour seal relaxing on the rocks.
A Canada goose overlooking harbour seals.
Bald eagle on the log booms.
Bald eagle taking flight.
A very wet bald eagle who doesn’t seem pleased with the rain.
The iconic Canada goose.