T-Party

February 26th, 2020 Species: Transient Orca (Orcinus orca) Location: Victoria, British Columbia. While guiding a tour in the Salish Sea of British Columbia, we came across a large group of Transient orcas South of the capital city of Victoria. We quickly Identified the whales as belonging to two different families or matrilines, the T137's and T99's. After travelling and socializing for quit sometime, the group became distanced from each other. Suddenly, the matriarch of the T137's (T137, hence the name) breached out of the water, almost 20ft in the air. She then proceeded to breach 3 more times before getting back to her regular surfacing pattern. Shortly after this burst of energy, the two families began to gather up. It's believed that these surface actions often displayed by cetaceans are a form of communication, as well as a fun way to socialize with others. Her breaches seemed to grab the attention of the other whales, displaying the complex behaviours and intelligence of these magnificent icons of British Columbia. The name 'T-Party' refers to when multiple groups of Transient orcas get together to socialize and forage for food.