Abstract

Signalment and familial history are basic for individual patients. This paper uses published scientific research papers to review an Orcinus orca familial tree. Orcinus orca was divided into several ecotypes in the mid-1970s based on their cultural pattern. Three of these ecotypes exist in the Pacific Northwest. The Transient orcas travel in and out of the area while the Offshore orcas mostly live in the deep oceans.¹ The third, Resident orcas normally stay or reside in a specific range. Residents were divided based on their maternal haplotype.² The Northern Residents (NR) are mostly in Canadian waters. The Southern Residents (SR) are in North America, Russia, the Bering Sea, England and Iceland. The distinct population segment titled The Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW), range from California to Alaska. SRKW were listed as endangered in 2005 after 20% of the population died from 1996–2001.³ They numbered 83 at the time of their listing. One of the most cited of the SRKW science papers is Bigg et al. 1990.⁴ The genealogy for the individuals observed was analyzed and documented over a thirteen year span. SRKW were divided into three pods J, K, and L and then further categorized into sub-pods with familial relationships. A specific matriarchal line is highlighted in the written text, the L25 sub-pod. The matriarch, L25, had a daughter, L23. She in turn had two offspring, a male L14 and a female L49. The family is found in two other tables within the same paper. Orca genetics have been published since 1989.² In research published paper Ford JKB et al. 1998⁵ we find that L14 from sub-pod L25 was a carcass that stranded. L14's genetics were analyzed. As a carcass, thousands of pounds of genetic material would be available. In a genetic kinship research paper Pilot et al. 2010,⁶ both L23 and L14 were tested and a genetic kinship program confirmed them to be related as was documented in Bigg et al. 1990. Supplemental data shows all the whales in the paper were inputted into the assignment programs and tested against each other. In the data set is an individual labeled Lol. This individual Lol did not have any kinship to either L23 nor L14 nor any of the other whales. Lol labeled for "Lolita" Tokitae, although a chain of custody for her samples was not confirmed. Tokitae ("Lolita") was listed in the endangered SRKW group in 2013. Legendary stories portray that L25 is her Dam. However research published papers scientifically show that she is not related to L25's daughter, L23, nor grandson, L14. Ford M et al. 2011⁷ does not have any genetics listed for any of the L25 sub-pod. At the age of 52, Tokitae is currently listed as the second oldest of the SRKW. In the last twenty years over 70 SRKW individuals have died and currently number 78 (90 percent of the current population lost within 20 years.) The three factors affecting them are 1) Lack of prey; 2) Toxins; 3) Boat disturbance.

Literature Cited

1.  Bigg MA. 1982. An assessment of killer whale (Orcinus orca) stocks off Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Thirty-Second Report of the International Whaling Commission, Cambridge; 655–666.

2.  Stevens TA, Duffield DA, Asper ED, Hewlett KG, Bolz A, Gage LJ, Bossart GD. 1989. Preliminary findings of restriction fragment differences in mitochondrial DNA among killer whales (Orcinus orca). Can J Zool. 67:2592–2595.

3.  Krahn MM, Ford MJ, Perrin WF, Wade PR, Angliss RP, Hanson MB, Taylor BL, Ylitalo GM, Dahlheim ME, Stein JE, Waples RS. 2004. 2004 Status review of Southern Resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) under the Endangered Species Act. U.S. Dept. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NWFSC-62, 73 p.

4.  Bigg MA, Olesiuk PF, Ellis GM, Ford JKB, Balcomb KC. 1990. Social organization and genealogy of resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the coastal waters of British Columbia and Washington State. Report International Whaling Commission (Special Issue 12), Cambridge; Pp. 383–405.

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