July 20th 3:30pm - The T124 Sisters

The T124 sisters returned to our neck of the woods, spy-hopping and splashing about near the North Arm outside Vancouver. Every since Sabio had her calf late last year, around the same time as her mom had a calf, Sabio has been travelling with other pods. This is Sabio’s first calf, and usually, it would fall on her mom, Kittiwake, to help her raise her first calf. However, with Kittiwake busy raising her own new calf Sabio seems to have turned to other whales for assistance. Kittiwake and Sabio were joined by a near matriarch in the spring, T086A Eider, and the 2 pods travelled together for over a week. When Eider and her family broke off from Kittiwake, Sabio joined them. Sabio and her new daughter travelled with Eider and her family for several weeks before Sabio had a reunion with her sister Elkugu. Since then Elkugu and Sabio have been glued together travelling the Strait of Georgia.
Elkugu is a successful matriarch, travelling with her son Agafia and daughter Litton, she knows how to raise a calf and seems to be helping her sister raise the new addition. Orca are incredibly intelligent animals who form strong family bonds, so it’s not a long shot to think Elkugu is here to support her sister. While female orca do leave their mom’s side eventually, it’s not uncommon for them to return to their families after extended breaks.

T124A2 - Elkugu
T124A2A - Agafia
T124A2B - Litton

T124A4 - Sabio
T124A4A - Sabio’s 2021 daughter

We’re very happy to see these 2 sisters around so often as it lets us keep an eye on Sabio’s new calf and see how she’s growing. She’s come a long way since she made her appearance in December last year. She’s always so full of energy and still glued right to moms side.

Today we got to witness a hunting lesson! Even though Sabio’s daughter is likely still drinking milk, she’s about 8 months old which means she’ll be trying fresh meet any time now, if she hasn’t already. For the last 8 months, she's been watching her mom and other whales as they hunted. Learning the family’s techniques and how they communicate with each other. She may not be participating yet, but she’s learning. One day she’ll be leading her own hunts and teaching her own daughters how to hunt, so it’s very important she watches carefully. Practicing on small harbour seals is great, as one day she’ll be after sea lions and porpoises as well!

Enjoy the photos taken by marine naturalists Carmen Murphy and Val Watson

T0124A2 Elkugu and son Agafia Photo by Val Watson.

Jilann LechnerJuly 20, 2022Comment