The A30 matrilineal is the name given to the most commonly seen orca

Orca

The killer whale , commonly referred to as the orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas...

 matriline in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. The matriline is currently made of 3 generations, with a total of 10 individuals. It is one of the 3 matrilines in A1 pod, one of the 9 pods of the A-clan. The matriline was present in over 60% of all of the encounters in the Johnstone Strait

Johnstone Strait

Johnstone Strait is a channel along the north east coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Opposite the Vancouver Island coast, running north to south, are Hanson Island, West Cracroft Island, the mainland British Columbia Coast, Hardwick Island, West Thurlow Island and East...

 region, making it one of best known matrilines. The group's size has increased, from 6 in the mid-1970s to 10 as of November 2011, including 4 calves. It is most frequently seen in Johnstone Strait from late spring to early fall, often traveling with other pods of the Northern Resident Community.

Current Individuals

• The 60 year-old matriarch, A30, also known as Tsitika Estimated to have been born in 1947, Tsitika is one of the oldest killer whales in the northern resident community and one of the few orcas that was already a reproductive mother when first seen in the early 1970s. She is very recognizable, due to the distinctive curve of her dorsal fin.
• A38, Tsitika's oldest son, also known as Blackney. (born est. 1970). At 40 years old, Blackney is one of the oldest males in the northern resident community. Like his mother, Blackney has a very curved dorsal fin which makes him instantly recognizable. Blackney is most often seen swimming next to his mother and since the death of Tsitika's oldest son, the two are rarely encountered far from each other.
• A39, Tsitika's youngest son also known as Pointer. (born 1975). Pointer's dorsal fin is very much like that of his older brother Blackney and the two are becoming difficult to tell apart.
• A50, Tsitika's oldest daughter, also known as Clio. (born 1984)
• A54, Tsitika's youngest daughter, also known as Blinkhorn or Minstrel. (born 1989). Blinkhorn became a mother at the early age of 12 with the birth of Cedar (A75) in 2001.
• A72, Clio's first offspring, also known as Bend. (born 1999). Bend is a young female. Bend has a distinctive cut at the middle of her dorsal fin, the cause of which is not known.
• A75, Blinkhorn's first offspring, also known as Cedar.(born 2001) His/Her sex has not been determined yet.
• A84, Clio's second offspring, also known as Klaoitsis.(born 2005) His/Her sex has not been determined yet.
• A86, Blinkhorn's second offspring, also known as Cutter. (born 2006) His/Her sex has not been determined yet.
• A94, Blinkhorn's third offspring. (born 2009). His/Her sex has not been determined yet.

Deceased Individuals

• A2, better known as Nicola was one of the most famous and recognizable killer whales of the coast. She was Tsitika's mother and died in 1989, letting her daughter be the matriarch. As Nicola was the oldest female of the subpod when the study began in the Pacific Northwest in 1973, it was first named "A2 subpod" and was later changed to A30. She was born around 1927.
• A3, also known as Wavy was Nicola's only son and was already mature when first identified, so he is estimated to have been born in the early 50s. He died in 1979.
• A6, also known as Strider was Tsitika's oldest son. He was very recognizable due to his notch near the top of his dorsal fin and with his two brothers, he formed a 3-bull trio, making the group very easy to identify. He is estimated to have been born around 1964 and died in 1999. Strider is also the known father of Sutlej (A45) making him the grandfather of Springer (A73)
• A40, was Tsitika's fourth offspring born in 1981 and died in 1983. Little is known about A40 because of the little time this one had before his/her death.

A30 Matrilineal as Research Subjects

This matriline has been studied extensively, particularly in order to establish vocal behavior among Killer Whales. One study of this matriline established that Killer Whales increase the use of family-specific calls shortly after the birth of a calf. This increased calling is believed to facilitate the learning of the family-based calls and assist in maintaining family cohesion. This matriline was also studied in an effort to understand how calls vary among pods and among matrilines within pods.

Current status

As of November 2011, the A30 Matriline is formed by ten whales. In 1999 Tsitika's first grand calf arrived and that was Clio (A50)'s first offspring, Bend (A72). In 2001 the family welcomed the arrival of Cedar (A75), Blinkhorn (A54)'s first offspring and in 2005 Clio gave birth to her second calf, Klaoitsis (A84). In 2006 Blinkhorn gave birth to Cutter (A86). By using DNA testing it was found out that Bend (A72) is a female around last summer. The newest addition to the A30 matriline is Blinkhorn's third calf A94 born in 2009. The A30s are still one of the most frequently encountered matrilines. In the summer, they are often seen in the company of other A1

A1 pod

A1 pod is the name given to one of the best known killer whale families in British Columbia. It currently consists of 3 matrilines and 22 members and is the most commonly encountered pod in the Northern resident killer whale community...

 subpods or with A4

A4 Pod

A4 pod is the name given to one of the best known killer whale families in British Columbia.It currently consists of 3 matrilines and 14 members and is most famous for being the family of young Springer, who was the first orca to be successfully reintroduced to the wild after being handled by humans...

 or A5 Pod

A5 Pod

A5 pod is a name given to a group of orcas found off the coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the northern resident population of orcas - a name given to the fish-eating orcas found in coastal waters ranging from mid-Vancouver Island up through the Queen Charlotte Islands of British...

.