August 28th 3:30 - 23 T's off of Beaver Point!

The afternoon tour on the 28th was in for quite the treat. Our boats had gotten word of Orcas traveling south of Salt Spring Island and so we began our trip through the Gulf Islands. We managed to catch up with the Orcas who were traveling through Swanson Channel.

This group of Orcas was actually a Super-pod or a very large T-Party, consisting of 5 pods. The T18/19s, 65A’s, 37A’s, 37’s, and 34’s.

Here’s a complete break down of who belongs to which pods.

T34 - Grace
T34A - Pachamama
- T34A1
T34B - Sonder

T37 - Rocky III
T37B - Harold
T37B1 - Lance
T37B2 - Trident

T37A - Volkers
T37A1 - Inyo
T37A2 - Inky
T37A3 - Spinnaker
T37A4 - Crinkle
T37A5

T18 - Esperanza
T19 - Nootka
T19B - Galiano
T19C - Spouter

T65A - Artemis
T65A2 - Ooxjaa
T65A3 - Amira
T65A4 - Ellifrit
T65A5 - Elsie
T65A6 - Callisto

As we’ve discussed many times before, T-parties are typically social events that allow different pods to exchange information and present mating opportunities between pods. They can also be used as hunting opportunities, more adults Orcas means more skilled hunters and the potential for taking larger prey.

This T-party was a social event, and a big family reunion! We know that Rocky is the mother of both Harold and Volker, meaning all the T37’s were together at one time. However, we’ve recently learned that T34, Grace, may actually be Rocky III’s mom, which means that this was potentially the complete T34 Matriline, with all 14 family members.

The T18/19 group is a 3 generation pod in itself, with T18, Esperenza, traveling with her daughter Nootka and 2 grandsons Galiano and Spouter.

The T65A’s are a group we also often see, lead by Artemis. Artemis and Volker frequently seen traveling together. New research has suggested that Dolphins, of which Orca are the largest, actually have names for each other and have best friends. Given how much time Artemis and Volker spend together it would make sense that these two are friends, and actively seek each other out when they are in the same area.

During this T-party our whales were rolling, splashing and playing with each other. Our naturalists Brad, Vanessa and Cheyenne got some beautiful photos of our whales today, check them out below!

Jilann LechnerAugust 31, 2021Comment