Northern Resident Killer Whales

A23s. Photo provided by Garry Henkel.

### Matrilines

A36s, A34s, A50s, A35s, A24s, A23s, A25s, A42s, B7s, C6s, C10s, D12s, D9s, D13s, D11s, H5s, I19s, I40s, I22s, I17s, I18s
G3s, G46s, G16s, G31s, G17s, G2s, G62s, G27s, I11s, I16s, I27s, I4s, I65s, I33s, I35s, I68s
R5s, R13s, R17s, W3s

## Conservation

### Threats

Lack of prey, toxin accumulations, and vessel impacts, including the threat of oil spills

Northern resident killer whales have a strong preference for large salmon, primarily Chinook and secondarily, chum.

## Social Structure and Behaviour

The Northern Residents are separted into 3 acoustically distinct Clans, A, G, and R. Within the Clans, the killer whales are further separted into Pods and then separate matrilines. As of 2020 there are 15 Pods, A1 Pod, A4 Pod, A5 Pod, B1 Pod, C1 Pod, D1 Pod, H1 Pod, I1 Pod, I2 Pod, I18 Pod, G1 Pod, I11 Pod, I31 Pod, and R1 Pod. There was a 16th pod, W1 Pod, however it died out in 2018 with the death of its final member, W3 "Nabannah".

Below is a table showing how each pod is separated based on their assignments within Clan, main pod, and the current (and past) matrilines.

### Dialect

Northern Residents are organized into three acoustic clans: A, G, and R. Clans consist of multiple matrilines that share a distinct set of calls. Each matriline further shares a set of calls. By listening to the calls, trained researchers can identify which pods are in the area and can even identify specific members of a pod.

### Social behaviours

Northern Resident orcas live in tightly bound family units called pods, and stay with their mothers and siblings for their entire lives. Generations stay together in matrilines, organized around the older females. Resident orcas forage together and practice prey-sharing; sharing what they catch with other pod members.

Northern residents routinely visit the rubbing beaches of Robson Bight (Michael Bigg Ecological Reserve) during the summer. Pod by pod, the whales enter the shallow waters of the Bight, and roll around or “rub” on the smooth stones there. Scientists believe these areas and behaviors are critical to Northern Resident social structure.

## Range

Northern Residents range from Southeast Alaska to northern Vancouver Island and in the inlets of B.Cs’s central and north coasts.

## History

Shot at, boat strikes and poor relationships with local fishermen.

### Live Captures

In June 1965, C11 "Namu" and C15 "Juliet" were accidentally netted in Warrior Cove, British Columbia by the fishing boat Bounty Hunter. Juliet managed to escape the ordeal, but Namu remained entangled and was subsequently bought by Ted Griffin to be displayed at the Seattle Marine Aquarium. In captivity, Namu became a star but would only survive a year before pass away after becoming entangled within the cables of his pen.

On July 25th, 1967, a group of killer whales swam past some fisherman setting out nets for salmon in Port Hardy, British Columbia. One of the whales, a young male, got trapped in one of the nets. The fisherman built a temporary pen to hold the whale while they figured our what to do with it. Both the Vancouver Aquarium and Marineland of the Pacific offered to purchase the whale, but Marineland won out in the end. The whale, who would later be named Orky, was kept in the pen for a few more days before he was shipped to Marineland. Orky was later identified to have been a member of the I11 Pod.

On February 23, 1968, eight fishermen corralled three killer whales in Garden Bay, British Columbia. They managed to trap one, with the other two reportedly escaping before the following morning. The remaining male, later named Hyak, was moved to a sea pen where he remained until being freed on February 14th, 1969. Later that year, the A5 Pod were captured again in Garden Bay, British Columbia. 7 individuals were reported to have been taken, with the group being of mixed ages instead of young calves. Two of the females caught, Bonnie and Kianu were pregnant at the time and sadly had stillbirths following their move to Marine World. Natsidalia, Hyak II, and Irving remained in the Garden Bay seapen, and Orky II and Corky were sold and moved to Marineland of the Pacific.[source?]

Natsidalia would pass away later that year in November, while Irving escaped the seapen in September. Hyak II was moved to Vancouver Aquarium where he stayed until his death in February, 1991. Bonnie passed away in July 1968 after her stillbirth. Kianu would eventually be moved from Marine World to Nanki Shirahama Adventure World where she passed away in June 1980. Corky passed away in December 1970, while Orky II would eventually be sold to SeaWorld San Diego alongside his second companion, Corky II, in 1987. It was there he passed away the following year in September.

In July 1968, a local fishermen caught nine killer whales in Queen Charlotte Strait, British Columbia and they are believed to have been Northern Residents. Of those caught, eight managed to escape but one remained stuck and was subsequently bought. Tula was originally bought for $7,500 and then was sold onwards to the Dolfinarium Harderwijk in the Netherlands. Tula would live there for three months before passing away.

The following year on December 11, 10-13 A5 Pod members were caught in Pender Harbor, however in the following days a male killer whale managed to escape. Six were kept due to their size and age which made them desirable for Marine parks, whilst the other four were let go as they were too large to profit from. Three of the young whales, Kenny, Patches, and Corky II, were sold to Marineland of the Pacific. Yaka and Nepo were moved to Marine World on December 28. The last youngster, Calypso, was eventually moved to Marineland Antibes in June 1970, but was temporarily held at the Seattle Marine Aquarium and also Cleethorpes Marineland and Zoo. From the six captured that day, five have since passed away. Calypso would pass away in December 1970 from unknown causes. Patches would pass away in August 1971 from a mediastinal abscess and salmonellosis. Kenny would also pass away in May 1972 from pneumonia  Nepo passed away in July 1980 from pneumonia, and the last to pass away was Yaka. She passed away in October 1997 from a respiratory infection. The only survivor from the 1969 captures, and only remaining Northern Resident in captivity as of 2022 is Corky II.

Studies conducted in the years following showed that overall the captures had little affect on the Northern Resident population size as a whole. But, A5 Pod was the most likely to see some impact after losing 12 juveniles between 1968 and 1969.

## Threats

Northern Resident orcas are currently listed as Threatened in Canada. Threats include lack of prey, toxin accumulations, and vessel impacts, including the threat of oil spills.

## See also

* Northern Resident Population Timeline
* Northern Resident killer whales (category)

### Photo-Identification catalogues

* (Bigg et al. 1987)
* (Ford et al. 2000)
* (Ellis et al. 2007) [Source]
* (Ellis et al. 2011) [Source]
* (Towers et al. 2015) [Source]
* (Towers et al. 2020) [Source]

## References

1. ↑ Era of the Orca Cowboys
2. ↑ One Whale Of A Set
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Olesiuk, P. O., Ford, J. K. B. F., & Ellis, G. M. E. (2005). Life History and Population Dynamics of Northern Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) in British Columbia. ResearchGate. Life History and Population Dynamics of Northern Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) in British Columbia
4. ↑ 3 Killer Whales Corralled in Bay
5. ↑ Killer Whale Cornered, Now to Land and Sell It
6. ↑ Whale Freed by Vandals
7. ↑ ]7 Killer Whales Penned at Once
8. ↑ First Killer Whale Stillborn
9. ↑ Whale turns event into big splash
10. ↑ Dancing Waters is dead
11. ↑ Skookum the killer whale is on the run
12. ↑ Colby, J. M. (2018). Orca: How We Came to Know and Love the Ocean’s Greatest Predator (Reprint ed.). Oxford University Press.
13. ↑ Killer Whale Dies of Grief
14. ↑ One Dolphin's Story: Kianu
15. ↑ Orky, Oldest Killer Whale in Captivity, Dies
16. ↑ The story of Tula
17. ↑ Bull Killer Whale Escapes
18. ↑ Corky's Capture
19. ↑ B.C Whale Lift Planned
20. ↑ Killer Whale Flies To London In Own Iced, Soaked Hammock
21. ↑ When Cleethorpes was home to a two-ton killer whale named Calypso
22. ↑ Toward calibrating dentinal layers in captive killer whales by use of tetracycline labels
23. ↑ Yaka refuses to perform: Killer Whale mourns mate
24. ↑ Cetacean Cousins: Yaka's Profile
25. ↑ Meet Corky, the Longest-Held Orca in Captivity