T006 Alice

T006 "Alice" *(pronounced AL-is)* was a white female Biggs transient killer whale seen several times in the Pacific Northwest. Due to her rare coloration, it seems likely that she was related to T002 "Chimo".

## Sightings

The first recorded sighting of a white killer whale in the area was on August 23rd, 1923. It was seen in Chatham Sound in a group of 15 whales. It is unknown if this whale was the same whale who would come to be known as Alice. At the time, it was believed that they could not be the same whale due to the erroneous belief that killer whales lived only 20-30 years. There were two other sightings of white killer whales in the Pacific Northwest before August of 1946: one in 1942 and one in March of 1946.  Alice was also claimed to be dated back to around 1945.

The first confirmed sighting of the whale who came to be known as Alice was on August 7th, 1946 near Race Rocks. The whale was described as being all white, with some grey on the dorsal fin. It was traveling with eight to ten normal-colored killer whales and the observer judged it to be an adult female based on the dorsal fin. A man named Dr. Clifford Carl at the Royal British Columbia Museum decided to study the whale to gain an insight into orca behavior, knowing that a white killer whale would be easier to track. He put out a request not to harm the whale and to contact him if she was sighted. Dr. Carl named her Alice.

From 1946 onward, Dr. Carl compiled records of Alice to track her movements. She was seen once more in 1946, and seven times in 1947. In July of that year, she was seen attacking a small fin whale. The next month, Alice and several other whales were seen in Witty's Lagoon, which delighted nearby picnickers.  There were six records of a white killer whale in 1948, and six more the next year.

In 1950, there were nine records of a white killer whale in the area. On one of these observations in October of that year, a man was able to get a good look at Alice. He described her as starkly white and about 19-20 feet in length. She was seen in the company of about 19 whales and most excitingly, one of them was white too. Alice was being tailed by a young killer whale described as having mostly whitish sides, but a black border on its dorsal fin. It was believed that this calf belonged to Alice. In March of 1952, a pair of white killer whales were seen again. A group of six orcas were seen off Discovery Island with a white adult female and a white juvenile among them. They were believed to be mother and calf, quite possibly the same pair that had been seen in 1950. There were no further records of an albino female with an albino calf.

In January of 1958, Alice was described to be with two "black buddies", as well as putting up "quite a show" after doing multiple behaviors in Victoria, British Columbia. She was also spotted around the same place sometime before or during October 16 of that year. It is not known if Alice was travelling with other whales during her second encounter, however, she was believed to be the only albino killer whale by that time.

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Provincal Museum of Natural History and Anthropology Report for the Year 1959"
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Alice, Albino Killer Whale, Institution Around Island"
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 *Orca: How We Came to Know and Love the Ocean's Greatest Predator*