Tsuchi is one of the whales that hold a very special place in my heart. Not only is she from one of my favorite matrilines, but she's also survived so many losses.

Tsuchi is a 31-year-old female Southern Resident killer whale. She got her name from the Japanese word for "melon-headed whale", a species sometimes seen off the Washington coast.

Tsuchi was first seen on January 2nd, 1995, alongside her mother J11 Blossom. She's her mother's second surviving calf and the middle child.
She has an older brother, J27 Blackberry, and a younger brother, J39 Mako. Tsuchi belongs to the J11 matriline.
A genetic study couldn't identify her father; however, she has several paternal half-siblings, and her sire is listed as Dummy male *7.

In 2008, she was measured at 6 m (19.7 ft). Tsuchi has a unique jagged pattern behind the subocular patch.

When their mother went missing in 2008, J39 Mako was only five years old. She and J27 Blackberry helped raise him.
They all have a close relationship, a bond only strengthened after the death of their mother.

Sadly, Tsuchi is best known for how many calves she's lost.

From 2009 to 2013, Tsuchi lost 4 calves to miscarriages.
In 2014, she gave birth to a stillborn calf.

On January 18th, 2016, Tsuchi was seen carrying a deceased calf. The calf had never been seen before and died after a few days.
This calf was posthumously named Mintaka.

Following yet another miscarriage in 2017, on May 30th, 2019, Tsuchi was seen near Tofino.
With a calf. This calf would later be named J56 Tofino.
Two months after the first sighting, it was confirmed that J56 Tofino was female.
J56 was the first surviving calf in J pod in three years.
Tofino was in bad condition in September 2020, but her condition has since improved.

About a week ago, Tsuchi was once again in the news for carrying a deceased calf. This calf had been carried to full term but died after birth or was a stillbirth.

Tsuchi is a harsh example of how badly the Southern Resident killer whales are struggling.
Their calves have a 50% survival rate.
A number of factors are responsible for their decline. The decline of salmon is one of the biggest threats to their survival.

In addition, persistent pollutants likely play a part in the high number of miscarriages. Because orcas are apex predators, pollutants build up inside their bodies.
These pollutants are passed on to their calves during pregnancies. This may be one reason why females live longer than males. They pass on the pollutants in their system and decrease the percentage of pollutants in their bodies.

However, I will make a post about the history of SRKWs soon and include more of their struggles.

Seeing babies in this small population makes me so happy! This footage is by WeWhale.

Painted an orca moving through the waves, with just its dorsal fin and part of its back showing above the water. I wanted to capture a simple moment in the ocean using loose brushstrokes and shades of blue, black, and white. I hope you love how it turned out

Port and Starboard are easily the most recognizable orca duo, known for preying on sharks in South Africa.
(This post is a little rushed.)

Port and Starboard are a duo of killer whales sighted in South Africa since at least 2009, usually off the coast of Gansbaai, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, and most notably in False Bay. They are males and estimated to be in their mid-twenties.
They are named after nautical terms, as their dorsal fins are conveniently collapsed to opposite sides. This also makes identifying them easy.
Port and Starboard are terms for watercraft, aircraft, and spacecraft, referring to the left and right of the vessel.

Their maternity and pod are unknown.
They are suspected to be half-brothers, but no evidence proves it.
Other orca brothers travel together, and sibling bonds are often strong. Male orcas engage in MOSIs (Male-Only Social Interactions; gay sexual interactions). However, it is unknown if Port and Starboard engage in MOSIs.
Port and Starboard may simply get along without being related.

Their ecotype is debated, and multiple ecotypes are suspected in South African waters. They were thought to be Type A orcas based on their believed diet. Orcas in the False Bay area were believed to prey solely on marine mammals. However, this has been disproven since they also feed on sharks.
This paper suggests a second morphotype of killer whale in South African waters that differs in size, morphometrics, dental wear, diet, and possibly schooling behaviour.
Port and Starboard are also often referred to as the "flat-toothed South African" morphotype. These orcas would specialize in hunting sharks rather than marine mammals. This might explain their extensive tooth wear, possibly caused by shark skin.
However, no evidence proves the existence of this morphotype. Orcas don't typically change their diet unless in extreme circumstances.
Ultimately, it's unknown which morphotype/ecotype Port and Starboard belong to.

Port and Starboard were first seen near Lüderitz, Namibia, in 2009.

Their first confirmed kill spree happened in 2015 when several dead sharks were found. These carcasses showed they opened the sharks between their pectoral fins to get to the fatty livers.
They likely utilized tonic immobility to do this safely.

Their first famous kill was in May 2017. Khaleesi, a 5 m (16 ft) long female white shark, washed up dead on shore.

Starting in 2017, great white sharks started washing up on shore with their livers removed.
August 2019, five dead great white sharks were found with their liver removed. They also preyed on copper and broadnose sevengill sharks.

And by 2020, almost all the great white sharks had moved out of the area.

On February 24th, 2023, they killed at least 17 broadnose sevengill sharks.

In May 2022, five orcas, including Starboard, were seen attacking a great white shark. This was the first time one of them was seen interacting with other orcas. Typically, Port and Starboard stay together and isolated.

Starboard made history again in June 2023, killing a great white shark on his own.

However, despite how much I love Port and Starboard, they are actively changing their environment negatively.

Since the great whites largely disappeared, the food chain has shifted.
Sharks are doctors of the ocean, and their presence promotes a healthy environment.
Since their absence in South Africa, Cape fur seal and bronze whaler shark populations have surged in Gansbaai.
This increase in prey species is called a trophic cascade. This describes the loss of a predator that ultimately disturbs the ecosystem.
Since the seals no longer feel threatened, they have become bolder and have been seen preying on critically endangered African penguins.
Since June 2024, seals in the Western Cape have become infected with rabies. This epidemic could likely have been prevented if great whites had preyed on rabid seals.

When looking at Port and Starboard, people usually have two questions:

Why do they eat only the livers, and why are their dorsal fins collapsed?

Why do they eat only the livers?
Orcas preying on sharks always eat the liver but seem to leave the rest to rot.
Orcas target their liver because of its energy-rich qualities. A shark's liver can make up to a quarter or more of its total body weight and is filled with oils and fats. Shark's muscle tissues are lean, though, and far less calorie-dense. Their cartilage adds no nutritional value.
It's also relatively little effort to get to the liver. Orcas have perfected their hunting strategy. They know exactly where to rip the sharks open. Wound patterns on the dead sharks were consistent across multiple carcasses.
They likely grip the shark, flip it to induce tonic immobility, and then bite into the ventral surface to access the liver.
Tonic immobility is a state of paralysis many sharks enter when they're turned upside down. And Port and Starboard know this.

Another theory also suggests orcas don't eat the rest of sharks because of their rough skin. Their rough skin causes extreme tooth wear

Why are their dorsal fins collapsed?
Well, we don't know for sure.
Dorsal fin collapse is uncommon in the wild. Overall, less than 1% of all wild orcas have collapsed dorsal fins.
In Port and Starboard, their collapsed dorsal fins may be due to injuries from preying on sharks.
Overall, dorsal fin collapse is linked to illness, lack of surrounding water, sun exposure, prolonged time at the surface, old age, and trauma.

Hey everyone! A couple days ago I got to see two pods of transient orcas hanging out together. Our guide identified them as the 37 B's and 35 A's. There was one named Opal, T035A1, and Lance, T037B1. I just thought it would be interesting to learn more about these families! No clue whos in the photo, but they were some we saw, if anyone wants to try to id!

Ok, which pod does this belong in? 🤣

Old Thom, also known as Old Tom, can sometimes be confused with Old Tom. Confusing, I know. But they're two very different orcas with very unique stories.

Old Thom is a solitary Northwest Atlantic killer whale, sighted typically off the coast of northern New England and Eastern Canada since at least 2006. He's fully grown, but his exact age is unknown.

Very little is known about Old Thom's past. It's unknown what pod he belongs to or who his family is.
But he may be a descendant of the orcas that frequented New England until the 1980s.
Their ecology remains largely unexplored; observations include some individuals preying on marine mammals, tuna, and one instance of an orca feeding on squid from a trawl net.

Old Thom is estimated to be around 9.1m (30ft) long and weighing eight tons. This would make him larger than T011A Rainy, who is currently the biggest confirmed killer whale.
However, these measurements are estimates. Some estimates place him between 7.6 and 9.1 m (25 to 30 ft).
He's also easily recognized by the notch in his dorsal fin. In my opinion, he also has very recognizable eye patches.

The first known sighting of him was in 2006 by a Canadian whale-watching boat in the Bay of Fundy. He was already an adult back then.
Male orcas tend to reach full physical maturity around 25. This would put his birth year in the 1980s, making him around 40 now. But this is simply a vague estimate.

Since then, he's been seen multiple times.
So far, he's been seen twice in 2026. In April, he was seen at Stellwagen Bank, and in June, about 10 miles from Nantucket.

His exact diet is unknown, but we assume he doesn't feed on marine mammals.
He's been seen eating cod, pollock, and hake. Old Thom is also known to eat discarded fish from trawlers.
It's also rumored Old Thom feeds on sharks and might be following their migration. Orcas can negatively affect shark populations, but Old Thom doesn't seem to affect the population yet.

One thing that makes Old Thom special is that he's never been seen interacting with other orcas. Orcas are social animals, and while lone orcas like L98 Luna and T65A5 Indy have been observed, it's not typical for orcas to always be alone.
We don't know why Old Thom is alone. Maybe his pod died, or maybe he enjoys being alone. Some orcas seem to enjoy being alone and are fine on their own.

It's not surprising Old Thom doesn't interact with orcas. Old Thom is the only orca known to frequent the Gulf of Maine and its surrounding waters, and sightings are extremely rare in this area.
Orcas have been observed hunting tuna off the coast of North Carolina, with additional sightings reported further north in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. But sightings remain rare.
Based on old whaling records and interviews with fishers, orcas were observed occasionally in the Gulf of Maine, often preying on tuna and whales.
Group sizes varied from solitary individuals to pods of over 30 orcas, with sightings peaking in the 1970s and 1980s before declining to nearly zero.

However, genomic evidence suggests at least two populations living seasonally along eastern Canada. A third group could potentially live around Newfoundland. Researchers suspect this may be the group Old Thom is from.

Old Thom is often seen alongside Atlantic white-sided dolphins. He seems to have an affiliative relationship with them.
Just like other lone orcas, Old Thom seems to compensate for his lack of social contact with other orcas by interacting with other species. In his case, dolphins.
In 2016, he was seen with 20-30 Atlantic white-sided dolphins off Nova Scotia. He's usually seen swimming alongside them, but also hangs around on his own.
Old Thom may have successfully communicated and hunted with the dolphins. Orcas can imitate animals, including seals like Luna did. But we don't know the exact relationship he has with these dolphins and if he's learned to communicate with them.
They seem comfortable around him, though.

It is not unheard of for orcas and dolphins to engage in positive interactions with one another. NRKWs, dolphins, and porpoises have been documented swimming together.
However, I might cover this more closely in another post.

Besides his interactions with Atlantic white-sided dolphins, he also occasionally interacts with boats.
He seems comfortable around boats and is very social with them.
In 2016, Old Thom seemed to itch himself on a ship's anchor.
He's also been observed pec-slapping, swimming upside down, and tail-slapping.

Jerry Leeman captured footage of Thom near their vessel.

Old Tom was one of the Eden killer whales known for assisting whalers in hunting baleen whales.

It is unknown when Old Tom was born, but estimates place it around the 1850s or 1860s.
The Davidson family stated they knew Old Tom for 80 years, and he was present from the 1860s until his death in September 1930.
This would make him over 80 years old.
In 1977, he was estimated to have been 35 years old. This was done using a cross-section of the teeth. However, this method is unreliable for older individuals.
It's unknown how old Old Tom was, but if the Davidson family is correct, Old Tom would be the oldest male killer whale we know of.

Old Tom measured 6.7 m (22 ft), with a 1.02 m (3'4 ft) skull and 13.4 cm (5.3 in) long teeth. He weighed 6 tons.

By the 1840s, 50 killer whales were spread across 3 main pods. All of these pods cooperated.
In the Eden region, hunters sighted only about 30 animals during these hunts. 26 of these were named.
They returned every winter during the migration seasons of baleen whales, from late May until early September.

Old Tom was part of a sub-pod consisting of seven whales led by Hooky.
The members included:
Hooky, Old Tom, Humpy, Big Ben, Young Ben, Charlie Adgery, and Kinscher.
Big Ben left in the early 1900s. Young Ben followed in 1912. Charlie Adgery and Kinscher left in 1923. Humpy was last seen in the 1920s, and Hooky in 1926.
Old Tom was likely around the longest and stayed until his death.

I mentioned the Davidson family, but who were they?
Alexander Davidson began shore-based whaling in 1875 with his son John. Their whaling station was the longest-running shore-based whaling station in Australia. They relied on rowboats and harpoons rather than newer, more effective equipment, such as hand guns and motorboats.
They did this to protect the orcas from the noise.
Three generations of the Davidson family claimed to have worked with Old Tom.
The Davidsons also employed indigenous Australians.

Way before the Davidsons, the indigenous Australian whalers already worked alongside orcas, referred to as beowas ('brothers'). They saw orcas as working dogs. Playful, helpful, and friendly.
They saw orcas as reincarnated ancestors because the orcas' coloration matched their traditional white-and-black clothing during corroboree ceremonies. During this ceremony, people interacted with the Dreamtime through dances, music, and costumes.

The Davidsons had a very positive relationship with the whales.
They would help each other beyond hunting.
If a man fell overboard during a whaling trip, the orcas would protect them until they could make it back into the boat.
Similarly, if orcas became entangled in fishing lines, the whalers would cut them free.
The whalers also fed Old Tom and other orcas with fish. This later became one of their main food sources, although they did also prey on seals and dolphins.

So, how did they hunt with the orcas?

When preying on baleen whales, the pod would divide into three groups. Each group had a unique and important role.
The exact roles vary by source, but one group stayed in the open ocean to hinder escape and to herd the whales towards the coast.
The second group swam underneath the whale to prevent it from diving deep and attacked it.
The third group attacked it and was stationed ahead of the whale during the herding in case it broke loose.

After the whale was trapped, Old Tom would swim in front of the Davidson whaling station and tail-flop to get the attention of the whalers.
The whalers would then row out and harpoon the baleen whale.
The orcas also knew the differences between the boats of the Davidson family and boats of competitors and herded the baleen whales towards them.

Another interesting thing about the Davidsons and the orcas is the Law of Tongue.

Whalers would anchor whale carcasses to the bottom of the seafloor or in close proximity to the shore. Orcas would feed on the carcasses and eat the tongue, the lips, and the genital regions. The whalers used the untouched blubber and bones.
This law dates back to Indigenous Australian history. They had a similar agreement for generations.

Now, back to Old Tom.

Old Tom had a distinct sense of humor. His name was taken from "tomfoolery", and his early nickname "Tom the Humorist" is mentioned in the Davidson family diaries and oral stories.
He was considered a joker for his humorous and sometimes annoying antics. He was known to jump on the rope fastened to a harpooned whale, hanging onto it with his teeth to be towed around.
He also used to take the cables in his teeth to tow the boats out to the open ocean. He would also
do this to smaller fishing boats. Evidence of this behavior can be seen in the wear patterns on his jaw.
The Davidsons described him as an "athletic and skillful whale hunter".

The whaling in Eden declined after the death of Typee in 1901. He was killed by a local after stranding close to shore. This caused the Indigenous Australian whalers to abandon Davidson's crew. This is also what is believed to have driven the orcas away.

Baleen whales weren't stopped in Eden after 1926, but Old Tom returned on his own.
It's believed his pod may have been killed further north in Jervis Bay by Norwegian whalers.
Old Tom likely returned to familiarity after losing the rest of his pod. Lone orcas are often known to approach people and interact with them.

Old Tom was found deceased on September 17th 1930, in the southern part of Twofold Bay.
While the cause of his death remains unknown, he likely died of starvation or old age.
His teeth had been worn down and even damaged after an encounter with George Davidson and his friend John Logan.
Reportedly, John Logan had a "fight" with Old Tom over the carcass of a whale. This ended with Logan damaging some of Old Tom's teeth. This and the constant tooth wear from playing with the ropes and cables may have contributed to his death.

Since his death, the Killer Whale Museum was established in 1931, showcasing a permanent exhibition of the history of Eden and Old Tom.
The main attraction is Old Tom's preserved skeleton.

A study in 2023 (Isabella Reeves et al.) compared Old Tom's genome and compared his DNA to that of other orcas worldwide. This suggests neither Old Tom nor any of his pod left any confirmed descendants.
However, it is possible some relatives of them were not sampled in the study.

I can’t seem to find much information on this.

Link to video here: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1JHn2fpuj3/

Any idea what’s going on with this guy? This video just showed up in my feed. Is he all good? Waiting for a snack from the fishermen perhaps? Seems strange!

Our orcas belong to a world far removed from ours, yet there is something deeply familiar about them. Their strong family bonds, their intelligence, and the way they navigate the vast ocean together make them truly remarkable.

This painting is a tribute to these extraordinary animals and the wild world they call home, and a moment of quiet beauty with one of the ocean's most iconic inhabitants

Feel free to check my website for some orca paintings

Today, we will cover one of my absolute favorite orcas:

J27 Blackberry. One of the prettiest orcas, in my opinion.

J27 was first seen with his mother, J11Blossom, in November 1991. He was also seen with J26 Mike, both under two weeks old.
Genetic evidence suggests J1 Ruffles is J27 Blackberry's father.
In 2008, he was measured at 6.5 m (21.4ft). Blackberry is quite popular in the Salish Sea, primarily because he's so recognisable with his tall dorsal fin and unique saddle patches.

Blackberry belongs to J11's matriline. The matriline includes J27 Blackberry, J31 Tsuchi, J39 Mako, and J56 Tofino.

Blackberry has a close relationship with his siblings J31 and J39.
Their mother passed in 2008 when Mako was just five years old. Blackberry and Tsuchi helped raise Mako. Because despite being deadbeat dads, orca brothers can be really caring :)

Blackberry also likes to hang around with J26 Mike, who was born around the same time as him. They've known each other their entire lives and enjoy travelling together.
When they were younger, they loved playing with calves, breaching and watching calves mimic them.
Blackberry is also a bit of a show-off, as he's been seen following females to show off. Can't judge him; he's gorgeous.
Blackberry likes to surface slowly (show off) and enjoys approaching boats sometimes

📸: Gary Sutton @gary_j27 (Bay Cetology, OceanWise) (photos 1-6)

📸: OceanWise (photo 7)

📸: Monika Wieland Shields (Orca Behaviour Institute) (8-9)

Photo 9 captioned

“Throwback Thursday: A film photo I took 20 years ago (!!) during the summer of 2004. That's a young
J27 Blackberry (age 13) and baby J39 Mako (age 1)”

📸: OceanWise (A99 Alder) (photo 10)

This paper, published in a journal co-run by ethology societies in the United States and Europe, reveals that adult females with calves are the primary decision-makers amongst killer whales in Norway. Orcas display a truly astonishing diversity of cultures and social structures around the globe, but more and more research is pointing to the conclusion that in all or most of these disparate cultures it is the females who do most of the directing of daily life and hold critical ecological knowledge. These females are relied upon and honored by their children, grandchildren, and cousins, especially their sons01994-7?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982222019947%3Fshowall%3Dtrue) and, as this study found, adolescent females. Interestingly, this study also found that those orcas who initiated dives were commonly on the edges of the group, not in front, a phenomenon that has also been observed in pilot whales.

Had an epic adventure from a few years back I'd like to share. I'm a whale watching operator in SoCal and went on a fishing trip to Bay of LA in the Sea of Cortez. Last day of our trip I was contacted by other captains that the ETP pod is our home waters. So bummed and FOMO, but what could I do? On our way back to the launch ramp after our day of fishing, the captain (Capt Ivan of Igor's Sportfishing) calls out and says, 'Will, there's ORCAS!'. What proceeded to happen was an hour and half of this pod mugging us! They somehow trapped a bottlenose and honestly we did not see another dolphin around. They proceeded to let the calf make the kill and after they feasted, they kept bringing us a piece of the dolphin to share their meal with us. Not one other boat in sight this interaction was life changing. If interested check out the video here on YouTube tells the story better than I can in words:

https://youtu.be/fH0G16sS0Bc?si=ff45JBonyHfG34N7

Charlie Chin is known for his unique appearance and for escaping captivity alongside his mother.

Charlie Chin was born sometime around 1960, likely to T002 Florencia, also known as Pointednose Cow. T005 Nootka is his presumed sister.
He was a West Coast transient killer whale originally known as M1.

Bob Wright, Sealand Owner, was desperate to catch a white killer whale. On March 1st, 1970, Charlie Chin and his pod T002 Poitednose Cow, T005 Nootka, T003 Scarredjaw Cow, and T004 Chimo were captured. They were held in a sea pen.

Back then, knowledge about orcas and their unique cultures was very limited. Very little was known about their diet, and they refused fish when offered. As mentioned, Charlie Chin was a transient orca who fed on marine mammals. They didn't see fish as food.

Twenty-five days after their capture, Chimo and Nootka were moved to Sealand of the Pacific. This left the rest of them alone in the sea pen.

Their health began to decline as they went on a "hunger strike". In reality, they did not recognize fish as food.
Charlie's mother, Pointednose Cow, became inactive and logged at the surface for hours.

Scarredjaw Cow died from starvation after spending 75 days in captivity.

Now, only Charlie and his mother were left. They were given vitamin B12 and glucose injections to stimulate their appetites.

Two days after Scarredjaw Cow's death, Charlie approached his caretaker and took the salmon he was offered. He approached his mother, and they vocalized, later sharing the fish. After this, Florencia became more active again.

Charlie started feeding on the fish and brought it to his mother. Once they started feeding, they consumed 450 pounds of fish a day, and their health improved.

Charlie Chin was supposed to be sold to a Texas marine park.

However, on the night of October 27th, 1970, someone weighted down the corner of the net with weights until it sank deep enough for the orcas to escape. And they did.

After escaping, Charlie Chin and his mother began preying on marine mammals again and travelling together.

Sometime around 1986, Charlie Chin stopped travelling with his mother and the rest of her family. He would sometimes return to the group but was typically seen alone.

He was last seen in 1992 in Alaska and has since been declared deceased. He was approximately 32 years old.

His mother had three calves and was last seen in 2009.

T49A6 Charlie II was named after Charlie Chin. He has a similar underbite.

Hi everyone! I am a wildlife biologist hoping to see Orca in 2027. I’ve seen humpback whale, gray whale, and beluga, but sadly never Orca.
I’m wondering if any of you wonderful folks have any connections for Orca field work in 2027? I would absolutely love to do any research or other field studies, preferably in the PNW. I have over 16 years of field work experience studying many different species. Right now I’m studying desert tortoise and I know by the time spring rolls around I’ll be ready for a cooler, humid, seaside environment.
Please drop any links of known research or feel free to send me a direct message, I would be so so stoked 🙏🏼
🫍🤍🫍🤍🫍

Orcas are highly intelligent and very beautiful mammals. No deadly attacks against humans ever recorded. A few attacks due to mistaken identity; victims recovered. Ignores or in rare cases swimming and playing with humans. They don't deserve the "Killer whale" name even though whales are sometimes their prey.

They have very similar personalities as other dolphins. In fact, Orcas ARE dolphins. They're after all the largest dolphin species.

<3

as someone who considers themself having no artistic talent, i was surprised on how it turned out!