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This article and photos are courtesy of Discovery Marine Safaris who do regular whale watching tours in our area and know a lot about Orcas!
Orcas (Killer) Whales - Resident & Transient
They are actually not whales like so many people think; they are the largest
member of the dolphin family.
Killer whales are highly social animals. Both the Resident and the Transient Orcas have
very sophisticated hunting techniques and vocal behaviours, which are often specific to a particular group and passed from
one generation to the next. This phenomenon has been described as expression of culture. Transient Orcas are silent hunters,
unlike the Resident Orcas who communicate with each other to herd the fish and then eat them.
Transient and Resident
killer whales live in the same areas, but avoid each other. The name transient originated from the belief that these killer
whales were outcasts from larger resident pods. Researchers later discovered that transients are not born into resident pods
or vice-versa. The evolutionary split between the two groups is believed to have begun two million years ago. Genetic research
indicates that the types have not interbred for up to 10,000 years.
Resident Orcas & The A 36's clan - The Three brothers
Resident: They are the most common Orca in our coastal waters, and they live in complex and cohesive family groups. Their
diet consists primarily of fish – mostly Salmon. That’s why they love the Discovery passage so much! Female residents
characteristically have a rounded dorsal fin that terminates in a sharp corner, while the males dorsal fin is straighter with
a tip. They are known to visit the same areas consistently. Researchers have identified and named over 300 killer whales over
the past 30 years.
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| Orca A37 from the A36 clan |
The A36 Clan or better knows as the 3 brothers are Resident Orcas: A32 (Craroft), A37 (Plumper) and A46 (Kaikash), A32
was born in 1962, his brother A37 in 1977 and A46 is the youngest born in 1982. Their mother died in 1997 and since then it
has been just the three of them. Recently the three brothers have been spotted with A12 (Scimitar). She is believed to be
the sister of A1, the mother of the three brothers. The three brothers don’t seem to mind having their “aunt”
with them. 76% of the time female orcas share their catch with their offspring, and since A12’s son passed away in 1997
we believe that she feels like the 3 brothers are her sons now.
Transient Orcas & T 14 PenderTransient: The diet of these whales consists almost exclusively of marine mammals
like seals and they do not eat fish. Transients generally travel in small groups, usually of two to six animals. Their family
bonds aren’t as strong as the residents. Female transients are characterized by more triangular and pointed dorsal fins
than those of residents.
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| Pender A14 |
Pender is a Transient Orca, born 1964. You can identify him by the 2 notches in his dorsal fin from the 1976 UW tag attachment.
Since the passing of his mother T-13 a few years ago, Pender has been hunting on his own and is sometimes seen with other
femals from the Transient clan.
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