Tsitika A30 1947
Blackney A38 1970	Pointer A39 1975	Clio   A50 1984	Minstrel A54 1989
		Bend A72 1999

Who are the A30s?

The first free orca we came to know as an individual was an adult female with a distinct notch at the top of her dorsal fin. We called her "Nicola". Later she was given the identity "A2" but everyone used her name. Nicola's constant companion in those early days was a huge male called "Wavy" after his fin. Wavy was probably Nicola's son. When Nicola died in 1987 her daughter Tsitika, A30, was 40 years old and had three adult sons and a young daughter with her. The "A2s" became the "A30s". The family is always easy to recognise, partly because the huge males' dorsal fins wave from side to side when they surface. Tsitika's oldest son, Strider, was a favourite of whale watchers because of a distinctive notch in his dorsal fin. Sadly, he died in 1999. For many years the family has remained in the "core area" almost all summer. Tsitika's daughter Clio, A50, is now beginning to raise her own family. Her first baby, Bend (A72) is named after an unusual tilt to the dorsal fin as well as a nearby island.