The T123 matriline is a well-loved group of Bigg’s killer whales that have frequented the Salish Sea with regularity in recent decades. This family currently consists of mother and matriarch T123 Sidney and her three living offspring: son T123A Stanley, born in 2000, daughter T123C Lucky, born 2012, and daughter T123D D’Arcy born in 2018. (T123 also had a second son, T123B, that did not survive. He was born in 2009 and was last seen in early 2011). Many whale enthusiasts anticipate the first sighting date of this family each year, with T123A Stanley considered a “fan favorite.” And what’s not to admire? As a full-grown male, T123A sports an impressive dorsal fin and tends to be a highly photogenic killer whale, often exposing his chin and “overbite” as he surfaces for air.

T123 is the presumed daughter of T46 Wake, though she does not bear the “T46” sub-designation. T46 spent thirteen years away from the Salish Sea and when she was sighted by researchers after this absence, she had several young females traveling with her – T46A, who was a young calf, and two others who were slightly older and were designated T122 and T123. T123 traveled with T46 until she began to have offspring of her own, then dispersed from the T46 matriline, while her presumed sister T122 stayed with T46 for the rest of her life.

Frequenting the Salish Sea as they do, researchers and observers have gotten to know the T123s quite well, leading to some interesting stories over the years. Upon taking aerial body measurements via drone photos, it was discovered that T123 is currently the largest known female in the Bigg’s killer whale population, measuring just over 23 feet long. How impressive is her size? For comparison, she’s the same length as adult male T87! You can read the study and see the measurements of other Bigg's killer whales here.

Size does not stop a whale from gracefully leaping above the water, though! Given some of the T123 member’s knack for going airborne during their seal and harbor porpoise chases, the group became known collectively as “The Aviators.” Witnessing this group in the throes of a hunt can be a spectacular display of power, speed, and agility. Sometimes their “after-meal” celebrations can be just as acrobatic, full of breaches, tail slaps, and cartwheels.

Before perfecting these acrobatic hunting techniques, a misguided foraging attempt almost spelled disaster for the T123s. In late July 2011, T123 and T123A live stranded on a sandbar near the Genn Islands off the coast of Northern British Columbia. This area was a recognized seal haul-out site, and it is thought that the whales may have lost track of the outgoing tide as they were foraging in this shallow area. Originally reported on the sandbar via a floatplane pilot and stuck for roughly 11 hours, amazingly both individuals were able to refloat and swim away with the next incoming tide. Sometime within the next four months, T123 gave birth to T123C, nicknamed “Lucky.” Lucky is right! With the force of gravity weighing heavily on T123s internal organs as she was stranded, it’s astonishing that she gave birth to T123C without any complications or adverse effects to herself or the calf.

While T123C Lucky acquired her common nickname given her survival of T123’s stranding, the rest of the T123 family has been given their common names from the Vancouver Aquarium located in British Columbia, Canada. Each of their names come from a Canadian place, landmark, or geographical location along the Salish Sea. T123 is known as “Sidney,” for the large city along the southeastern side of Vancouver Island; T123A is known as “Stanley,” named after Stanley Park near the city of Vancouver; T123D is known as “D’Arcy,” named for the island and shoals just southeast of Sidney in Haro Strait. If T123 has any other offspring in her lifetime, it is expected that the Vancouver Aquarium will nickname those calves, as well.

There are several Bigg’s killer whales that, at first glance, appear to have a look-alike (sometimes multiple look-alikes!). T123A Stanley is one such whale. Born in 2000, the year before his doppelgänger, T60C (born 2001), both males have grown tall fins with a similar shape and lean, and each dorsal fin has obtained a notch located along the top third of its trailing edge. Using saddle patch markings and closely scrutinizing the width of the dorsal base can help tell these two apart, but this is not as easy as it sounds when encountering orcas on the water in quick glances. Because T60C resembles T123A so much, when it came time to assign him a nickname, the popular vote decided upon “Yelnats,” Stanley spelled backwards.  If the T123s and T60s are ever spotted traveling together, on-scene individual identification may prove tricky!

Living up to their group nickname the “Aviators,” the T123s were witnessed showcasing their prowess as apex predators by vigorously pursuing a large Steller sea lion off Reuben Tarte County Park on northeast San Juan Island, May 4^th, 2020. There were several spectacular things about this attempted predation event. The first, was that the effort to take down this Steller lasted almost an hour and a half, with each member taking turns relentlessly ambushing, breaching on top of, body-slamming, and continuously attacking the big male. The second, was that this Steller sea lion had a brand—183R—and nickname (“Hercules”), making him a known individual within his population. And the third was that 183R would successfully escape to shore, eluding the whales and thwarting their meal plans! Viewed in its entirety by several researchers and whale enthusiasts from shore, it was initially thought that this hunt would be successful for the whales. But as the excitement ensued, the Steller sea lion was slowly making his way toward the shore, fighting valiantly for his life.

In the end, 183R was able to make it to the tiny cove near Reuben Tarte, pulling himself into the shallows just beyond the T123’s reach. Looking quite exhausted after the ordeal, it was initially not known if 183R had sustained any internal injuries or if he would survive. Making a turn north, the T123s left 183R on shore and continued traveling toward Spieden channel. You can watch our video about this encounter here! Later that year, in December 2020, 183R would be resighted and photographed among a group of Stellers that were hauled out to thermoregulate at Green Point on Spieden Island, just around the corner from where the initial predation attempt took place! It looks like the score between this duel resulted in The Aviators = 0 and Hercules = 1. Hercules has continued to be seen in the years since that event, too!