It was sunny as we left the dock in search of whales. It was a little wavy but our expert captains handled the waves with ease as we made our way north. We initially had a vague report of orca from a few hours prior so we headed towards where we anticipated they would show up. After a little while of searching, we received a new report of orca close to home. We turned the boats around and made our way back. It didn’t take us long to see the towering fins of the T101s slicing through the water.

T101 Reef ♀ (≤1969)
T101A Rush ♂ (1993)
T101B Lagoon ♂ (1997)

This impressive family consists of matriarch Reef and her 2 living sons Rush and Lagoon. While it’s impressive to see the 2 giants next to their mother, it wasn’t long ago that 3 giants were travelling with Reef. The eldest brother Beardslee was an impressive whale, to say the least, but unfortunately, the last time he was seen (a few years ago) his body condition was poor and he hasn’t been spotted since. This likely means that he has passed away. Male orca typically live 30-60 years and Bearsdlee was in his 30s so while it’s sad that he’s gone, he did live a full life with his family.

While Reef spends most of her days travelling with her sons, she does have a daughter as well. While there are no rules when it comes to orca, typically we say males spend their entire lives with their mothers while females of this population will leave once they have a calf or 2 of their own. Not only are Reef and her daughter Hutchins successful matriarchs but Reef’s granddaughter is also a successful matriarch. Yes, that means Reef is a great-grandmother!!

After spending some time with this impressive family we finished our tour by having a look at some harbour seals that were hanging out on the rocks at Snake Island and then headed back to dock.

Please enjoy this trip’s photos taken by Marine Naturalists Aly Kohlman and Lucy Willis.