March 22, 2025 - 3 different groups of orca in one trip!
Our hopes were high as we pushed off and started the day’s adventure. With the sun shining and the Salish Sea looking stunning as always, we set out from Nanaimo, excited for whatever nature had in store. After receiving some news about early morning sightings near Nanoose Bay, we headed north to try and find the pod!
It didn’t take too long before we saw the telltale signs of whales. Just off of Dorcas Point, 4 dorsals were surfacing together, with 1 a bit further away. After snapping some photos, our first pod was identified as T023 and the T023Ds:
T023 Janice ♀ (≤1964)
T023D Axle ♀ (1993)
T023D3 Robin ♂ (2012)
T023D4 Sixx (2015)
T023D5 (2019)
T023D3 Robin, the only confirmed male in the pod, has begun to sprout. This means he is starting to go through puberty. For orca males, we know this occurs because of the changes to their dorsal fins. Robin’s fin is beginning to straighten out and is increasing in height. While he is still on the (relatively) small side for an orca male right now, his dorsal fin may reach a height of around 6 ft. (1.8 m.)!
This pod appeared to have an afternoon map when we found them - all of them except T023D4 Sixx that is. While we do not know if Sixx was busy playing or potentially foraging for another snack, we could see them popping up further away from the pod as the other 4 would surface and slowly sink back down into the water.
The day’s adventures didn’t end with the T023s though! We left the sleepy family behind and quickly found another pair of orca - this time it was T128 and T125A, also known as the Alaskan Boys:
T128 Flotsam ♂ (1988)
T125A Jetsam ♂ (1998)
These two males spend most of their time up in Alaska, but every year (roughly around the spring), we see them in our area for a few weeks before they head on out again.
While orca males usually stay with their natal pod their entire lives, these two decided to venture into the seas alone. Their mother T125 and presumed older brother T127 Hacksaw are believed to still travel together.
Two years ago, Flotsam and Jetsam had a couple of scuffles, resulting in some new scars on their dorsals. The fights were so significant that they separated for a brief period! While we will never know what they argued over, they have come back together now, and once again continue travelling side by side up and down the coast.
Today these two were wandering the shoreline of Rathtrevor beach, very close to shore. They could have been looking for seals resting on the beaches - in other words, on the prowl for an easy snack. However, they didn’t seem to catch anything while we observed them, but it was very impressive seeing two full-size male orca traverse through only a couple of feet of water!
Once we departed from the brothers we headed out to see other wildlife. We popped over to Stinky Rocks, a popular haulout for our Steller sea lions. Several grumbling growls were ringing through the air. We also stopped to see our Harbour seals, a smaller (and much quieter) pinniped species resting up on the seaweed-covered shores.
But wait - our day’s adventure wasn’t done yet! Once we had visited our pinnipeds we caught word of another different whale sighting close by! We started zig-zagging, eyes peeled for more blows or dorsals. We searched and searched and we thought that maybe our time with the whales was done for the day… that is, until we started making our way back to homeport. There they were, right in our backyard just outside of Nanaimo - our largest group of the day!
We took more photos to begin the toughest ID journey of the day. We counted roughly 11 whales present, and 2 of them appeared to have very similar dorsal chunks missing (sometimes known as lookalike whales). Identifying these whales was going to be tricky, but we were up for the task! After cross-referencing with our catalogues, we identified the group as the T049As and T124As:
T049A Nan ♀ (1986)
T049A3 Nat ♂ (2011)
T049A4 Neptune ♂ (2014)
T049A5 Nebula ♀ (2017)
T049A6 Charlie II ♂ (2022)
T124A Kittiwake ♀ (1984)
T124A1A (2024 calf)
T124A4 ♀ Sabio (2010)
T124A4A (2021 calf)
T124A6 Kasuun ♂ (2016)
T124A7 ♀ (2021)
With four under 5-year-old calves present, there were a lot of bouncy and excited young whales around! These two pods were likely socializing and playing as they travelled around the area.
You might notice something odd about the T124A matriline - a young calf designated T124A1A was here -however, her mother, T124A1 Bonapartes is not listed.
Why is this? Originally it was believed that this calf was T124A1 Bonapartes’ first known calf, leading to the calf being given the code T124A1A. However, shortly after the little one was discovered, it was noticed that the calf was not looking healthy. It started to get thinner and thinner… and then suddenly, after one encounter it was looking healthier. Interestingly, this occurred once the calf was seen travelling with T124A4 Sabio instead of T124A1 Bonapartes. Sabio had had her first calf, T124A4A, a few years prior - so she was not new to mothering. T124A1A has also continued to be seen travelling close to T124A4 Sabio in recent sightings.
Now questions have arisen: Who is this calf’s actual mother? Did Sabio take on the calf after Bonapartes was unable to care for it - potentially from a lack of milk production, etc.? We will likely never know for sure, but the T124A matriline continues to intrigue us with its interesting dynamic, and they are always amazing to see with so many young whales amongst the adults!
Once we said our goodbyes to the T049As and T124As we turned towards Nanaimo and made our way back to port, concluding another wonderful trip out into the Salish Sea.
This trip’s photos were taken by Marine Naturalist Vanessa Vereschahen - please enjoy!
T023D3 Robin is starting to sprout, and is sporting a new scar! Matriarch T023 Janice is behind him.
T023D Axle with T023D5 close behind.
T023D5 beside their brother T023D3 Robin - look at that size difference! There is only a 7 year age difference between these two!
This shot of T023 Janice shows her healed scars down the front edge of her dorsal - these scars are hidden in most light!
T023D Axle beside her youngest calf T023D5.
T023 Janice in front of her grandchild T023D5, who also sports old scars that are invisible in most situations. Naturalist Vanessa happened to capture perfect shots of these two showing off their ‘camouflaged’ scars!
T125A Jetsam and T128 Flotsam travelling close to shore.
T125A Jetsam’s dorsal has a large chunk out of it, and a pretty significant bend to the tip.
T125A Jetsam with a big bushy blow above him!
T124A4 Sabio has some new scars in her saddlepatch!
T049A6 Charlie II with his square face following his mother T049A Nan.
T049A3 Nat is starting to tower over his siblings!
T124A4 Sabio with T124A4A and T124A7.
T049A6 Charlie II right beside his mother T049A Nan.
Family Photo! From left to right: T124A4 Sabio, T049A6 Charlie, (likely) T049A Nan, T049A6 Neptune, T049A5 Nebula, T049A3 Nat.
T124A Kittiwake with her youngest calf T124A7.
T124A7 with her eyepatch out of the water as she zooms beside her mother T124A Kittiwake.
T049A Nan and T049A6 Charlie II.
T039A3 Nat with T124A7 behind him (and likely T124A Kittiwake between them).
You can really see how square T049A6 Charlie’s face is here as he surfaces!
T049A Nan and T049A6 Charlie II - Charlie is now 3 years old but he is almost always spotted travelling very close to his mother.
T124A4 Sabio.
The little family - T124A1A, T124A4A, and T124A4 Sabio.
T124A Kittiwake’s eye patch now has scars in it!
T124A7 beside her mother T124A Kittiwake.
A small group of harbour seals resting on the rocks.
Time for a nap!
What a picture-perfect sea lion!
Bickering amongst the Stellers is a common sight.
A number of juvenile Bald Eagles, with a mature Bald Eagle in the forefront.
A gull in flight.
A pair of Canadian Geese wandering the docks in Nanaimo.
A beautiful portrait of a Canadian Goose.
Birds looking into the camera always end up with the funniest photos!
An immature Pacific Loon floating by.