On the morning of the 19th, we found our first pod of the day in Sansum Narrows, the channel that runs between Vancouver Island and Salt Spring Island. Today the T090’s were travelling north, likely looking for their next meal. This pod is comprised of 4 whales. The matriarch Eagle is usually followed by her eldest son Piglet and her two daughters Tigger and Kanga. We’ve encountered this pod a few times in the last few weeks as they’ve been travelling up and down along our coastline.

After hanging out with the T90’s we started our trip home when we encountered the T002C’s. The T002C’s are another group of 4 whales. Tasu travels with her eldest son Rocky, her daughter Lucy, and her youngest T002C5.
The T002C’s have a sad history to their family but are an excellent example of the emotional intelligence these animals have for their family.
in 2005 Tasu gave birth to a little boy who would later be named Tumbo. Tumbo was born with Scoliosis, evident by the large curve in his spine and slightly deformed dorsal fin. Most of the time when animals in the wild are born with disabilities or severe illnesses they are abandoned or even killed after birth. Orca, however, are incredibly smart animals that form intense life-long bonds with their family members. Even though Tumbo was brand new to the outside world, Tasu and Rocky had been communicating with him for months before he was born, developing a bond with their unborn family member. When Tumbo arrived in the world his family didn’t care about his differences and welcomed him all the same. Then they adapted. Due to his Scoliosis Tumbo was unable to travel as fast as the other members of his family, nor could he participate in hunts as successfully with the difficulties in swimming. This didn’t stop him or his family. Tasu and Rocky adjusted their lives, travelled slower and made sure Tumbo got the food he needed. In 2011, when Tumbo was 6, he got a new little sister, Lucy. As the family grew they began travelling more to find all the food necessary to sustain them. Rocky and Tumbo had an incredible bond, as the family travelled more to find food it wasn’t always possible to travel slowly, as such Rocky could often be seen hanging back and travelling with Tumbo, or circling back to make sure Tumbo was on the right track. This little family grew again in 2017, welcoming little Kano into the world. Now 5 orca this family needed a lot of food to sustain themselves, especially as Rocky was getting very large and Tumbo too was entering puberty - something that would prove very difficult for the little whale. In late 2019 Tumbo was seen for the last time with his family and was declared deceased in 2020. It’s presumed he finally succumbed to complications from his Scoliosis as he went through puberty and rapid growth. Tumbo lived for 15 years with his family, 15 years longer than most animals with his conditions get to live. In the harsh unforgiving wild world, Tumbo was fortunate enough to have been born an orca, to a family that loved him and changed their lives to accommodate his needs so he could stay with them as long as possible.

While Tumbo’s story is a sad one, it’s a testament to Orca and their emotional intelligence. The fact that his family willingly changed their lives to make sure Tumbo was cared for is a heart-breaking but eye-opening story that reminds us all how incredible these whales are, and that there is so much we can learn from them.

After our time with the T002C’s we continued on to find Scoop, a female humpback, who was hanging out with 2 friends. We haven’t yet been able to ID Scoop’s friends from the day but we did get to hang out with them while they travelled around and foraged for their dinner. The humpbacks seem to have been a bit late this year in their return but it finally seems that many of our regulars have found their way back to our waters and we are excited to see who sticks around for the rest of the month and into September!

Enjoy the photos of our wildlife from the tours taken by Marine Naturalists Aly Kohlman and Vanessa Vereschahen.

August 19th - 2 separate groups of orca and a group of humpbacks hanging out close to home

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