July 31st 3:30 - T-party Round 2!

After our morning tours our boats were eager to head out to see if we could find the T-party we had left a few hours before.
It didn’t take us long to get back to where we had left the whales, which hadn’t moved a whole lot. The party was still in full swing with plenty of breaching, tail slapping, spy hopping and other social behaviours.

The T137’s, T65A’s and T37A’s have been hanging out on and off all month. We saw their first Social T-party several weeks ago, and this social event was no different. Members of all 3 pods were just has happy to be spending time together today as they have been all month.
Along with these 3 pods have been 2 members of the T36A pod, Kailas (T36A2) and Mike iii (T36A3). Why these 2 have been traveling without their mom and older sister is unknown, but they’ve been sticking pretty close to T137A Jack for quiet a while now

T37A - Volker (1994)
T37A1 - Inyo (2007)
T37A2 - Inky (2009)
T37A3 - Spinnaker (2013)
T37A4 - Crinkle (2015)
T37A5 (2019)

137 - Loon (1984)
137A - Jack (2002)
137B - Tempest (2006)
137D - Wright (2012

T656A - Artemis (1986)
T65A2 - Ooxjaa (2004)
T65A3 - Amira (2007)
T65A4 - Ellifrit (2011)
T65A5 - Elsie (2014)
T65A6 - Cllisto (2018)

Orcas are not territorial animals, and so each pod does not have it’s own range or area that it keeps to, but rather pods come and go as they please, and socialize with anyone whose in the area. Orcas are more than excited to meet new faces and spend time with each other whenever they can, as these social events are typically when breeding behaviour can be seen.

While orcas don’t avoid each other or show territorial behaviour, it has been shown that dolphins, of which Orcas are the largest species, do have best friends!
A year ago we saw the T65A’s, lead by Artemis, spending a lot of time with the T37A’s, lead by Volker. Almost one year later and these 2 pods are spending more time together. It’s likely Artemis and Volker are good friends that enjoy traveling, socializing and hunting with each other and their families.

Below are some amazing photos taken by our marine naturalists Brad Farrow and Val Watson.

Left to right, T37A Volker, T37A4 Crinkle, and T36A2 Kailas. Photo by Val Watson

T137A Jack with T36A2 Kailas . Photo by Val Watson

Practicing the back stroke! Photo by Val Watson

T65A Artemis leading the young ones. Photo by Val Watson

Matriarch T65A Artemis. Photo by Val Watson

T137A Jack with matriarch T37A Volker. Do we sense romance in the air?? Photo by Val Watson

Matriarch T137 Loon. Photo by Val Watson

T37A Volker on the far left and second youngest T37A4 Crinkle on the far right. Photo by Brad Farrow

Looks like someone has been in a fight! Photo by Brad Farrow

We are running daily tours at 10:30 and 3:30 right now and have 2 different styles of boats to choose from. You can book online through our website or give us a call to book your whale watching adventure on the Salish Sea!

Jilann LechnerJuly 31, 2021Comment