August 10, 2023, 3:30 - Celebrations with the T-party
Today we saw a T-party consisting of the T002Cs, T037s and T137s travelling together in Trincomali Channel, close to Porlier Pass. All the whales there today were:
T002C Tasu (1989)
T002C1 Rocky (2002)
T002C3 Lucy (2011)
T002C5 Zippy (2020)
T034 Grace (~1969)
T034A Pachamama (2007)
T034A1 (2019)
T034B (2017)
T037 Rocky III (1979)
T037B Harald (1998)
T037B1 Lance (2012)
T037B3 (2022)
T137 Loon (~1984)
T137A Jack (2002)
T137B Tempest (2006)
T137D Wright (2012)
A T-party is what we call multiple pods of transient orca meeting up! They tend to party for hours to weeks to communicate, socialize, and breed. For these pods, it’s Tasu, Pizza Fin/Rocky II and Loon are the matriarchs that run each pod! The matriarchs are vital to the passage of information, they will teach their calves everything they know; where to hunt at specific times of the year, behaviour techniques, the environment surrounding them, vocalization and hunting tactics. Tasu (T002C) is the mother of Rocky, Lucy and her newest calf Zippy. Tasu was born before our official catalogue systems were created so her code used to be M9. Tasu has had five calves so far, her most recent was born three years ago known as Zippy who is pictured below!
When travelling in larger groups in T-parties we will sometimes see less common behaviours such as porpoising, breaching, and tail slapping! Usually, this is mostly seen during or after they’ve made a kill! It’s a bit more difficult to hunt when a T-Party occurs. However, throughout the trip, we noticed the pods split up and began travelling down the coastline to Porlier Pass. When the pods split up like this it’s to minimize the amount of sound created. Since the mammals they are hunting all have well-established hearing. This allows them to have a chance at ambushing their prey. Whether it be a harbour seal, Steller sea lion or porpoise. This theory was likely accurate as during this split the T034’s successfully hunted a Harbour Seal and then the T002Cs also seemed to have a successful hunt closer to Valdes Island. Afterwards, the celebrations commenced!
Later on in the afternoon, we spent time with Europa (BCX0854), her 2023 calf, Nuage/Beak (BCX1606), and Sherwina (BCY0961)! We saw a lot of low and high fluking dives which allowed us to get some good fluke photos! Did you know that every single humpback we have in British Columbia we can individually identify based on the bottom of their tails and their dorsal fins? The coloration on the underside of their tail is completely unique to each whale! You can clearly see the difference in fluke colouration with each of the humpback whales that we saw today.
We also were able to stop for some other non-whale species during our tour, including Harbour Seals, Steller Sea Lions, and even some Cormorants on the Gabriola Bluffs!
All these unique species and individuals can be seen below in the photos taken by Val Watson and Aly Kohlman.
T037 Pizza Fin travelling with T002C3 Lucy. Photo by Val Watson.
T037B Harald travelling with her mom, T037 Pizza Fin. Photo by Val Watson.
T002C3 Lucy travelling back to her family. Photo by Val Watson.
T137D Wright was celebrating after a successful hunt! Photo by Val Watson.
T137D Wright jumping out of the water again. Photo by Val Watson.
Look at T137D Wright’s belly button as she touches down! Photo by Val Watson.
T137B Tempest surfacing in front of Valdes Island. Photo by Val Watson.
Pizza Fin / Rocky III swimming through Trincomali Channel. Photo by Val Watson.
The two big boys hanging out together, T002C1 Rocky and T137A Jack. Photo by Val Watson.
T137 Loon behind T137B Tempest. Photo by Val Watson.
Looking up the back of T137A Jack’s dorsal fin. Photo by Val Watson.
From this angle, it’s hard to know who these whales are! Photo by Val Watson.
T137A Jack showing off his sweet scars and scratches. Photo by Val Watson.
The lovely Matriarch T137 Loon. Photo by Val Watson.
T002C5 Zippy travelling with mom T002C Tasu. Photo by Val Watson.
T002C1 Rocky and T137A Jack spending more time together. Photo by Val Watson.
The two boys passing through Porlier Pass. Photo by Val Watson.
T002C1 Rocky also has some pretty gnarly scars. Photo by Val Watson.
T137D Wright moving quickly through the current. Photo by Val Watson.
T002C1 Rocky. Photo by Val Watson.
T137B Tempest and her sister T137D Wright with their blows backlit by the sun. Photo by Val Watson.
Some action as they played in the currents of Porlier Pass. Photo by Val Watson.
A playful tail slap from T137D Wright. Photo by Val Watson.
T137A Jack with another surfacing in front of him. Photo by Val Watson.
T002C1 Rocky surfacing with T137A Jack and T137B Tempest breaking the surface in front of him. Photo by Val Watson.
Europa and her calf going for a dive. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Sherwina surprised us by popping up nearby the boat. Photo by Val Watson.
A look up Sherwina’s blowholes. Photo by Val Watson.
Sherwina arching her back more to prepare to dive. Photo by Val Watson.
Sherwina Lifting her tail flukes creating a fluke waterfall. Photo by Val Watson.
The underside of Sherwina’s tail flukes which we use to ID her. Photo by Val Watson.
Beak’s dorsal fin. Photo by Val Watson.
The underside of Beak’s tail flukes. Photo by Val Watson.
Cormorants posing nicely on the rocks. Photo by Val Watson.
A very awkward-looking harbour seal. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Fighting breaks out amongst the Sea Lions. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A lovely itch for the Steller Sea Lion. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Some harbour seals hauled out on the rocks. Photo by Val Watson.
We are seeing some “banana pose” meaning they are very happy! Photo by Val Watson.
A cormorant in flight in front of the Gabriola Bluffs. Photo by Val Watson.
An adult and juvenile Cormorant together on the cliff. Photo by Val Watson.
A rare “caught in the act” poop shot! Photo by Val Watson.