Lauren Tschirhart | August 21st, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 12:30 pm
The San Juan Safaris Classic Whale Watch & Wildlife Tour spent the afternoon observing a family of five Bigg’s Killer Whales. This matriline is known at the T036A’s and is made up of:
- - T036A/Leland — female, born in 1990
- - T036A1/Tierna — female, born in 2005
- - T036A1A/Drift — male, born in 2022
- - T036A2/Kailas — female, born in 2012
- - T036A2A/Rogue — born in 2025
- - T036A3/Storm/Mike III — male, born in 2015
- - T036A5/Squall — male, born in 2021
- - T036A1/Tierna — female, born in 2005
T036A1/ Tierna and T036A1A/ Drift do not often travel with the rest of the family, and today was no different.
We departed Friday Harbor and headed north, immediately stopping for a bald eagle that was perched on a tree near the University of Washington Laboratories Trailhead. We continued cruising further north and made our way towards Boundary Pass. Once in Boundary we started seeing dorsal fins in the distance. One fin stood out from the rest, T036A3/ Storm also known as Mike III was born in 2015 and is already quite large. At just around 11 years old, he has a very large dorsal fin. Just like humans, killer whales mature at their own pace. Some have growth spurts at an early age, while others are late bloomers. Seems like Mr. Storm is an early sprouter! The term “sprouting” is used to describe a male killer whale that has started maturing into adulthood. Males and females grow at a similar rate until around age 12. Once the males hit their early teens it's like they go through puberty, and start to grow massively, reaching maturity in their early twenties.
We witnessed these whales as they traveled east, over the north side of Waldron Island. T036A2/ Kailas recently had a calf, making T036A/ Leland a grandmother once again. It’s always a joy to see a family traveling three generations strong, as it usually doesn’t stay this way for long. Usually when the females start to have offspring of their own, they break off and become the matriarch of their own kin (like T036A1/ Tierna has started to do).
After an incredible encounter with these apex predators, we made our way through the Cactus Islands and over to Green Point on Spieden Island, while cruising around these small islands we encountered bald eagles, mouflon sheep and even some harbor porpoise!
Want to see more photos from our trips? Visit our SmugMug page at: https://sanjuansafaris.smugmug.com/
More information about the Pacific Whale Watch Association: https://www.pacificwhalewatchassociation.com/