August 23rd 3:30PM - T037A's in Trincomali Channel
If you travel through the Southern Gulf Islands of BC you may be familiar with Galiano Island, a long thin gulf island that borders the east side of Trinchomali Channel and the north side of Active Pass. On the eastern side of Galiano is a small island known as Wise island, and that is where we found ourselves on the afternoon of the 23rd.
Hunting and socializing off this island was a family of Transient orca known as the T037As. This pod is led by the matriarch Volker, born in 1994, she separated from her mom, Rocky III, some time ago, and has been travelling with her offspring through the Salish Sea ever since. Volker has 5 kids of her own. Inyo, Inky, Spinnaker, Crinkle, and T037A5. Her eldest daughter, Inyo, left Volkers’ side several years ago and prefers to do her own thing. This isn’t typical behaviour for a female orca, but she manages just fine on her own. Volkers’ other kids stick close to her, following her instructions and travelling through the Salish Sea as a family. Inky, her eldest son, has recently started to sprout. His dorsal fin is getting bigger every day it seems. Most notable in her family, though, is her second youngest, Crinkle. At 7 years old this little girl is very easy to distinguish from her family members as she has a deformed dorsal fin. Crinkle’s fin has a hard angle to it, looking as if it were bent when she was very young and it never fully straightened out again. It hasn’t seemed to impact the little whale who is often zipping around and playing with her siblings. Little T037A5 joined the family in 2019 and is the youngest of the pod, as such they still do not have a nickname. We typically wait a few years before naming new orca as they have a relatively high mortality rate. That said, Volker has never lost a calf to our knowledge and is an excellent mother.
While Volker does not travel with her mother, which is typical of older females who have their own offspring to care for, she does occasionally meet up with her mom and sister, and sometimes even her grandmother. There have been several instances where we’ve seen the whole extended family together.
Volkers’ whole family tree includes not only her mom Rocky III, sister Harold, and nephew Lance, but also the members of the T034 pod. The T034s are 3 whales lead by Grace who travels with her daughters Pachamama and Sonder. It’s always interesting getting 3 generations of Orca together, but to have 4 generations traveling together is definitely a sight to behold.
Enjoy some of the photos of our T037A encounter taken by senior marine naturalist Cheyenne Brewster.
Front to back: Spinnaker (T037A3) and Inky (T037A2) . Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Left to right: Inky (T037A2) and T037A5. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Inky (T037A2). Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Left to right: Volker (T037) and Inky (T037A2). Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Left to right: Crinkle (T037A4), Inky (T037A2), Volker (T037), and Spinnaker (T037A3). Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Inky (T037A2). Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Inky (T037A2). Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Crinkle (T037A4). Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Left to right: Volker (T037) and Inky (T037A2). Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Volker (T037). Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Inky (T037A2). Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Volker (T037). Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Left to right: Inky (T037A2) and Volker (T037). Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Inky (T037A2). Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Rose Islets. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.