SN113 Riptide

## SN0113 Riptide

SN113 Riptide in Snæfellsnes, west Iceland. Photo provided by Marie Therese-Mrusczok

## Physical Traits

### Ecotype

Icelandic (North Atlantic)

SN0113 ''Riptide'' (*pronounced RIP-tied*), also known as IS330, was an adult male Icelandic killer whale famously known for making the record breaking 4,970 mile journey from west Iceland to Lebanon and Israel in 2019 and 2020. Riptide was first sighted in 2014 and was believed to be over 20 years old. He has not been sighted since the 28th of February, 2020, and is believed to have passed away.

## Riptide and the Genoa 4's journey

In November 2019, sightings of a small pod of killer whales in the Cartagena area in Spain was reported. The individuals were identified as a known group of Icelandic killer whales who were first spotted in 2014 and had been previously sighted in the summer of 2017. The group consisted of SN0113 ''Riptide'', SN0114 ''Zena'', SN0115 ''Dropi'', SN0116 ''Aquamarin'', and SN0114 ''Zena's" newborn calf. This became the first ever record of orcas migrating between Iceland and Italy in killer whale research history and believed to be one of the longest migration routes of killer whales ever recorded to date. The group was given the nickname 'The Genoa 4'

On December 1st, 2019, the group was sighted again in Genoa, Italy, having travelled almost 920 miles in less than a month. Unfortunately, all of the members of the group except for Riptide appeared to be in very poor body condition, looking visibly emaciated or thin and displaying signs of peanut head. Zena's newborn calf was noted to have an especially bad body condition. By December 7th, Zena's calf had passed away and Zena could be seen carrying her deceased calf on her rostrum and on her back.   The group had left the harbor by December 18th, 2019.

On February 10th, 2020, the decomposed body of a female killer whale washed up on the shore of Lebanon. The body was missing it's tail flukes and dorsal fin, and most of the pigmentation on it's skin had been lost. A faint outline of the eye patch and size of the body were enough to determine that the body was of either SN0114 ''Zena'' or SN0115 ''Dropi''.

On February 19th 2020, Riptide was sighted once again in the Beirut area in Lebanon, alone and very emaciated. He was sighed four more times after that, and on February 28th, Riptide was sighted for the last time in Israel. Riptide and the rest of the Genoa 4's have not been sighted since and all members are believed to have passed away at some point during the journey.

## Galleries

* **Photos** of SN0113 Riptide
* Videos of SN0113 Riptide

## References

1. ↑ 'Samarra FIP, Tavares SB, Miller PJO, Vikingsson GA. Killer whales of Iceland (2006-2015). Report of the Marine and
Freshwater Research Institute.'
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Mrusczok, M.-T., Violi, B., Fakhri, M., Calogero, G., Biasissi, E., Jaouhar, A., Scullion, A., & Würtz, M. (2022). Long-distance movements of North Atlantic killer whales (*Orcinus orca*) from Iceland via Spain and Italy to Lebanon. *Marine Mammal Science*, 38( 2), 778– 787. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12866
3. ↑ 'Mrusczok, Marie-Thérèse. Killer whales of Iceland (2011-2021). Photo-identification catalogue with an emphasis on West Iceland.'
4. ↑ BREAKING NEWS: FIRST EVER IDENTIFICATION MATCHES BETWEEN WEST ICELAND AND GENOA, ITALY... - Orca Guardians Iceland, Facebook (2019)
5. ↑ Leone, A. [@leoneago]. (2019, December 1). An adult #orca and a calf spotted in the #Mediterranean #Sea near the #Genoa port terminal. They are a rare presence in the Med. Here the video #biodiversity #killerwhale https://genova24.it/2019/12/orche... [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/leoneago/status/1201244100269395968?s=20
6. ↑ https://twitter.com/Quad\_Finn/status/1203093446266781696?s=20
7. ↑ https://twitter.com/Quad\_Finn/status/1203769404233678848?ref\_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1203769404233678848%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1\_&ref\_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theanimalreader.com%2F2019%2F12%2F15%2Forcas-spotted-in-italy-are-from-iceland%2F
8. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/orcaguardians/posts/yesterday-sadly-a-dead-orca-was-found-on-the-shore-of-sarafand-lebanon-our-on-sc/2508261256071118/
9. ↑ https://dearborn.org/271073/orca-at-risk-after-record-journey-to-lebanon/