Newcomer T419 has become our 2026 March Madness Champion

In an absolute shocker, newcomer T419 has become our 2026 March Madness Champion, winning the crown for best right-side saddle patch in a Salish Sea Bigg's killer whale! Four weeks ago she was an unknown entity who had yet to even receive a T designation, and now she has single-handedly outcompeted the home team to claim the championship in dominant fashion by a final score of 60-31 over T37B1 Lance.

The West Coast Transient population has now failed to claim a title in the first six Salish Sea March Madness competitions. That must be an embarrassment, especially since this year's edition was set up specifically to change that. While T419 is a mammal-eating killer whale, she is not considered part of the same population as our common regional visitors. In apparent protest, more than 50 West Coast Transient whales showed up en masse to the Salish Sea on the day of the championship match, but it was too little, too late.

T419 herself has still refused to speak to the media, but she did issue a statement through a spokeswoman. In it, she thanked fans for appreciating her uniqueness, recognizing that she sports a highly unusual saddle patch for this area. She noted, however, that her cookie cutter shark scars are pretty standard where she came from; tellingly, she failed to provide any clues as to where that might be.

Thank you everyone for participating in our annual just-for-fun competition!

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