04/25/2022
We've been following an interesting story involving one of the younger Bigg's killer whales in the population, and yesterday this saga took yet another turn!
T34A1, born in 2019, has not been traveling with her mother since at least September of last year - essentially "dispersing" from her natal group at age 2! She has been regularly seen since then with T36 and the T36Bs, as seen in the photo below.
Yesterday, T36 and the T36Bs were eastbound in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and a whale-watching vessel picked up the young T34A1 about four miles apart from the rest of the group. A little later on, another roving lone whale, fifteen year-old T37A1, joined the T36 group, then broke off again a while later. Towards the end of the day, as the T36s continued east, T37A1 met up with the now three year-old T34A1 and the two whales with unique stories of dispersing at a young age were seen heading west together!
Making this story even more fascinating is the fact that the T34 and T37 matrilines are believed to be related, as shown in the simplified family tree below. Based on this, T34A1 and T37A1 are first cousins once removed.
We are mystified as to why T34A1 has left her mother at such a young age, but having been separated for over six months now, she seems to be doing okay. While we will never know why this unusual story is playing out, we are very intrigued by it, as it offers another rare glimpse into the complex social lives of orcas.
This type of tracking is only possible thanks to the decades of research that have come before us to track the family trees of these whales, and thanks to the dozens of people who have been sharing sightings of these family groups with us to help piece together what has been happening in recent months! We can't wait to see what comes next for the spunky T34A1.
