General Info
The northern resident community of orcas is comprised of three clans; A, G, and R, with a total of 16 pods. In the year 2001, there were an estimated 219 whales. The community has grown by over 60% from an estimated size of 132 whales in 1975.
The range of the northern residents includes coastal waters from approximately the midpoint of Vancouver Island north, all the way to southeastern Alaska.
Members of the community are most commonly seen during the months of June through October in the area of western Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Strait. The whales congregate here to intercept the salmon that funnel down the strait to their spawning rivers.
Meet the Pods
A CLAN
--A1 Pod--
A1 pod was the first group identified. The pod's size hasn't changed much over the past 26 years.
Its three matrilines have been spending increasing amounts of time apart over the last 26 years. In the 1970s, all three matrilines were together in about 63% of encounters with A1 groups. This dropped to 32% in the 1980s, and 14% in the 1990s. Although the three matrilines are now usually not seen together, each still tends to travel more with fellow A1 matrilines than any other northern resident group.
A36 Matriline
A12 Matriline
A30 Matriline
--A4 Pod--
A4 pod once travelled as one group with a single matriarch, A10/Scar, who died in 1983, along with her young calf A47, after being shot at the rubbing beaches in the Robson Bight. Starting in 1986, the pod began splitting into two matrilines, A11 and A24. These two groups still spend the majority of their time together. For the first time in 1999, A35 was observed traveling with her offspring well away from the rest of the A11 matriline.
A11 Matriline
A24 Matriline
--A5 Pod--
A5 pod is one of the few northern resident pods that makes occasional trips into the northern Strait of Georgia. It was captured there twice, in 1968 and 1969, with a total of 12 whales taken into captivity. Corky2 of SWC is the last survivor of these captures.
The pod is only three members larger in 1999 then when is was first censused in 1973.
A8 Matriline
A9 Matriline
A23 Matriline
--B1 Pod--
B1 pod was long known for its unusually high number of males. Although three old males, B1/Hooker, B2/Baronet died in 1998, and and B8/Izumi in 2003, the pod is still comprised mostly of males. The pod travels alone more than any other northern resident group, perhaps due to its number of males.
B7 Matriline
- B7: Scarlett
- B1: Hooker
(Deceased)
- B2:Baronet
(Deceased)
- B8: Izumi
- B10: Slingsby
- B12: Nakwato
- B13: Yuculta
- B14: Klaskish
- B15: Raven
--C1 Pod--
The two matrilines of C1 pod do not travel much together, and are only witnessed together in 20% of sightings.
C6 Matriline
- C6: Ivory
- C8: Lama
- C14: Hunter
- C18: Squally
- C16: Kisameet
- C19: Virago
- C21: Quadra
- C22: Diver
C10 Matriline
- C10: Koeye
- C13: Fifer
- C17: Cosmos
- C20: Gikumi
- C23: Fin
- C24: Kestrel
--D1 Pod--
Once very frequent visitors to Johnstone Strait, D1 pod started visiting the area only occasionaly in the 1990s. The two matrilines travel together about 80% of the time.
D7 Matriline
- D12: Hakai
- D18: Salal
- D9: Takush
- D10: Winchester
- D13: Cascade
- D15: Geetla
- D20: Whisky
- D19: Gypsy
D11 Matriline
- D11: Christie
- D14:Kitasu
- D17: Fisher
--H1 Pod--
H1 pod used to travel as one group, but recently this has changed. The female H3 and her offspring have been seen on a number of occasions without the rest of the group. The H1's have a very distinct dialect that is related to those of B1, I1, I2, and I18 pods.
H6 Matriline
- H6:
- H3:
- H2:
- H4:
- H7:
- H8:
- H10:
- H5:
- H9:
--I1 Pod--
I1 pod are the least enoucntered pod of the nothern residents. They have only been sighted 33 times in 25 years. They tend to spend most of their time off the coast of northern BC than in Johstone Strait.
I1 Matriline
- I19:
- I23:
- I40:
- I54:
- I69:
- I82:
- I71:
- I81:
--I2 Pod--
I2 pod is now down to only two memebers as opposed to a peak of seven in the early 90s. They are very seldomly sighted, and prefer to travel with equally uncommon pods I1 and I18.
I22 Matriline
--I18 Pod--
The I18 pod is comprised of the two least-known matrilies in the northern resident community. The matrilies I17 and I18 have been enoucntered only 48 times over the 25-year long study. They were traveling together in about one-third of these encounters.
I17 Matriline
- I17:
- I26:
- I38:
- I50:
- I57:
- I60:
I18 Matriline
- I18:
- I20:
- I49:
- I24:
- I53:
- I21:
- I52:
- I83:
- I48:
- I84:
G CLAN
--G1 Pod--
With 29 memebers, G1 pod rivals R1 pod as the largest northern resident pod. It frequently splits into smaller units of five matrilines.
G4 Matriline
G3 Matriline
- G3:
- G20:
- G19:
- G22:
- G32:
- G44:
- G37:
- G48:
- G51:
- G61:
G18 Matriline
- G11: Dawson (missing and presumed dead)
- G16: Harlequin
- G31: Sarbau
- G39: Shushartie
- G52: Tatchu
- G54: Glide
- G66: Seabreeze
G17 Matriline
- G17:
- G25:
- G23:
- G38:
- G40:
- G57:
- G60:
- G50:
- G59:
G29 Matriline
- G29: Hanna
- G45: Whidbey
- G46: M.B.
--G12 Pod--
G12 pod has a dialect that has recently been discovered to be very similar to those of I11 and I13 pods, and quite distinct from GI pod.
G12 Matriline
- G8:
- G27:
- G33: (missing)
- G35:
- G47:
- G62:
- G41:
- G58:
G2 Matriline
--I11 Pod--
I11 Matriline
- I11: Egeria
- I12: Loquillilla
- I13: Goletas
- I37: Tribune
- I42: Skuna
- I47: Quatsino
- I64: Kokish
- I78: Zayas
I15 Matriline
- I15: Liska
- I16: Trinity
- I27: Sointula
- I4: Ella
- I41: Broughton
- I44: Duff
- I43: Malcom
- I51: Naka
- I63: Donegal
- I65: Spout
- I72:
- I76:
- I77:
- I85:
--I31 Pod--
I31 Matriline
- I33:
- I35:
- I36:
- I46:
- I68:
- I45:
- I62:
- I79:
- I67:
- I74:
- I86:
- I80:
R CLAN
--R1 Pod--
R2 Matriline
- R2: Bonilla
- R3: Nigei
- R12: Kitlope
R5 Matriline
- R4:
- R5:
- R17:
- R18:
- R20:
- R21:
- R22:
- R23:
- R24:
- R25:
- R26:
- R27:
- R28:
R9 Matriline
- R7: Principe
- R13: Kimsquit
--W1 Pod--
W3 Matriline