July 10, 2024, 10:30 am - The T036s and T099s together, and the T065Bs afterwards!

Today was another beautiful sunny day as we left the dock in search of whales. Our boats made their way through Dodd Narrows and into the Southern Gulf Islands. This area is known for more than just its beautiful scenery as it is home to one of the last remaining Garry Oak ecosystems. Garry oak ecosystems house the only native oak trees in all of western Canada. The ecosystem consists of Garry oak trees and what would have been found around these trees naturally before European settlers arrived. The ecosystem contains so much life from native wildflowers to native grasses. If you ever have the time, we always recommend a hike called “Cable Bay Trail” which takes you to the mouth of Dodd Narrows - a stunning hike filled with these critically endangered Garry Oak ecosystems.
After passing through Dodd Narrows, we made our way down Stuart Channel and were lucky enough to find 2 matrilines of orca the T099s and the T036s:

T099 Bella ♀ (1984)
T099B Holly ♀ (2007)
T099C Barakat ♂ (2009)
T099D Puck ♀ (2015)
T099E ♂ (2021)

T036 Flapjack ♀ (1970)
T036B Tattertip ♀ (1998)
T036B1 Bhotia ♀ (2009)
T036B2 Greenfelder ♀ (2013)
T036B4 ♂ (2024)

Flapjack is the matriarch of her family. She travels with her youngest daughter Tattertip as well as Tattertip’s calves. We always love to see a 3 generation family, especially when it contains such a young calf in the mix. Bella, the matriarch of the other family present is well acquainted with Flapjack and her crew as Bella is one of Flapjack’s presumed daughters. Typically with Bigg’s orca, females leave their mothers when they have calves of their own (which is what Bella did). Tattertip on the other hand did not leave her mother as she was the last daughter and Flapjack had no surviving sons to keep her company. Even though Bella (and Flapjack’s other daughters) have left and have their own families now, they still come together to socialize.
After joining in on this family reunion we made our way back north where we had a report of more orca in the area! This time we found the T65Bs:

T065B Chunk ♀ (1993)
T065B1 Birdsall ♂ (2011)
T065B2 Nettle ♂ (2019)
T065B3 ♂ (2023)

This family is one of the reasons we say that orcas never stay in one place for very long. Last summer we were fortunate enough to find them outside of Nanaimo. To our shock, just a month later they were confirmed to be in California, but it didn’t end there. A few weeks later they were back around Nanaimo. Orcas can travel over 100 miles a day. We rarely see an orca stop moving for more than a minute at a time. This is one of the reasons we think travel behaviour is so beautiful. We love that the orcas we see on our trips are 100% wild with no barriers preventing them from travelling vast distances at their leisure.

We were also lucky enough today to see some other incredible wildlife including stellar sea lions, harbour seals, bald eagles and even a baby gull! You can see pictures from our incredible adventure below taken by Marine Naturalists Vanessa Vereschahen and Hayleigh Hilbert!

T036B Tattertip and T099B Holly lead the group close to shore. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

T099D Puck in front of Tattertip. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

Tatterttip and baby with Holly. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

Barakat shows off his dorsal. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

T036B1 Bhotia comes up for a breath. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

T099B Holly has a very distinctive dorsal. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

T036B Tattertip glides through the water. Where’s her baby? Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

There they are! the 2024 calf comes up for air beside mom. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

T099C Barakat and T036B1 Bhotia surface together. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

A family portrait of the T065Bs with T065B1 Birdsall in the front followed by T065B2 Nettle, T065B Chunk and T065B3 respectively. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert

A head on photo gives you an idea of just how large orca are. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen

T036B4 won’t get a name until they are around 2 years old. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen

T065B3 showing off his rake marks. Rake marks come from other orcas teeth. This can be from play, dominance displays and even aggression. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen

T099C Barakat isn’t even full grown yet but he dwarfs baby T036B4. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen

Can you see the chunk missing out of the base of T065B Chunk’s dorsal fin? Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen

Steller sea lions always fighting for the best spot. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

A male Steller sea lion is significantly larger than the females and juveniles in this picture. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

A harbour seal pup nursing from mom. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

Have you ever seen a baby gull? We think they are absolutely adorable! Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen

An adult bald eagle on an arbutus tree. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen