A Call-To-Action for the Southern Resident Killer Whales.
20 Years Endangered
We Must Do More To Save
the Southern Resident Killer Whales
The Southern Resident killer whale (SRKW) population is made up of J-, K-, and L-Pods. They are widely considered the most studied population of cetaceans on the planet, and decades of research means we know them as individuals with traceable matrilineal histories. The official population census of the Southern Residents is conducted annually by the Center for Whale Research. In addition to recording births and deaths, the Center assigns alphanumeric designations and maintains ID catalogs for the Southern Residents.
OBI's research on the Southern Residents focuses on presence/absence in the Salish Sea, behavioral budget and behavioral shifts over time, and acoustic communication.
75 Fins for 75 Whales
#OBIArtForOrcas
An ambitious community art project to raise awareness of the plight of the Southern Residents during Orca Action Month in June 2026
Fin Locations Interactive Map
Interactive Map of Fin Locations
Meet The Whales
The Southern Resident killer whale population is made up of J-Pod, K-Pod, and L-Pod. Despite 20 years on the endangered species list, their population has continued to decline. These iconic orcas are connected to wild salmon, the broader ecosystem, and our shared future in the Pacific Northwest. By raising awareness and building connection to these orcas through public art, we hope to inspire the additional bold actions needed to help the Southern Residents recover and thrive.
Meet all the WhalesJ47
Notch
Southern Resident Orca
Notch got his namesake marking at a young age. The size and shape of his notch has changed dramatically as his dorsal fin has grown with age.
Sex
Male
Birth Year
2010
Age
16
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J17s
Artist
Monika Wieland Shields
Location
Finn River Cidery
Southern resident orcas
Meet the Pods
The Southern Resident killer whale (SRKW) population is made up of J-, K-, and L-Pods. They are widely considered the most studied population of cetaceans on the planet, and decades of research means we know them as individuals with traceable matrilineal histories. The official population census of the Southern Residents is conducted annually by the Center for Whale Research. In addition to recording births and deaths, the Center assigns alphanumeric designations and maintains ID catalogs for the Southern Residents.
Meet J Pod
J-Pod is the "most resident" of the three Southern Resident pods, spending by far the most time in the inland waters of the Salish Sea.
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Meet K Pod
Since studies began in the 1970s, K-Pod has been the smallest of the three Southern Resident pods, usually numbering between 15 and 20 individuals.
Meet Greater L4s
The Greater L4s are the largest sub-group in L-Pod containing +/- 20 whales from several matrilines.
Meet L12 sub-group
The L12 sub-group (or Greater L12s) is the mid-sized sub-group from L-Pod typically numbering between 10 and 15 individuals.
Meet L54 sub-group
The L54s are the smallest Southern Resident sub-group, currently totaling just four whales.
Our Research
Southern Resident Killer Whales
Behavioral data collection remains at the core of our work even as our initial projects have expanded.
Learn More
gone but not forgotten
Day of the Dead Tributes
gone but not forgotten
Monika’s annual Day of the Dead tributes to honor the Southern Residents lost over the previous year.
Read Tributes
gone but not forgotten
Explore Our Media
Video & Hydrophone recordings
Explore our Southern Resident killer whale video and hydrophone recordings gallery.
Explore our Media#oBIArtForOrcas
Meet The Whales
J16
Slick
Southern Resident Orca
Slick's dorsal fin is so tall, that before she returned for her first calf she was for a brief time considered a sprouting male.
Sex
Female
Birth Year
1972
Age
54
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J16s
Artist
Kat Martin
Location
Seattle
J19
Shachi
Southern Resident Orca
While it wasn't immediately clear, Shachi eventually became the new matriarch of J-Pod after the loss of J2 Granny. She's often in the lead when the pod travels through major waterways like Haro Strait.
Sex
Female
Birth Year
1979
Age
47
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J19s
Artist
Carly Marshiano
Location
KEXP
J22
Oreo
Southern Resident Orca
Shortly after having her first calf J34 in 1998, Oreo also became a surrogate mother figure for her 3 year-old orphaned niece J32 Rhapsody.
Sex
Female
Birth Year
1985
Age
41
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J22s
Artist
Cindy Hansen
Location
Friday Harbor Suites
J26
Mike
Southern Resident Orca
Mike is named after Canadian killer whale scientist Michael Bigg who pioneered the technique of being able to photo-ID individual killer whales based on their natural markings.
Sex
Male
Birth Year
1991
Age
35
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J16s
Artist
Amanda Colbert
Location
Padilla Bay Interpretive Center
J27
Blackberry
Southern Resident Orca
After the loss of their mother in 2008, Blackberry played a key role in helping to raise his younger brother J39 Mako, who was five years-old a the time. The two brothers were inseperable until J39 reached adulthood.
Sex
Male
Birth Year
1991
Age
35
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J11s
Artist
Christine Fowler
Location
PSE, Port Townsend
J31
Tsuchi
Southern Resident Orca
Orcas can have unique markings in unexpected locations. Tsuchi is a prime example with a jagged black "cheek line" below her eyepatch.
Sex
Female
Birth Year
1995
Age
31
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J11s
Artist
Unknown
Location
Unknown
J35
Tahlequah
Southern Resident Orca
Tahlequah has famously carried two of her deceased calves for long periods of time after losing them shortly after birth, demonstrating the depth of an orca's capacity to feel grief.
Sex
Female
Birth Year
1998
Age
28
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J17s
Artist
Heidi Bruns Shank & Cindi Rausch
Location
Madrona Supply Co
J36
Alki
Southern Resident Orca
First seen in December 1999, Alki was the last Southern Resident born before the new millenium. Her name, also the unofficial Washington State motto, comes from a Chinook jargon word meaing "future prosperity".
Sex
Female
Birth Year
1998
Age
28
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J16s
Artist
Val Unger
Location
Future Primitive Brewing, Alki
J37
Hy'shqa
Southern Resident Orca
Hy'shqa is one of the "exceptions that breaks the rule". Instead of being rounded like most resident killer whale dorsal fins, her dorsal fin is more pointed like that of a transient/Bigg's killer whale.
Sex
Female
Birth Year
2001
Age
25
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J14s
Artist
Orca Network
Location
Langley Whale Center, Langley
J38
Cookie
Southern Resident Orca
Cookie has a unique line where his back appears higher behind his dorsal fin than in front of it. Already known for his rounded dorsal fin and unique saddles, fans think this just adds to Cookie's charm!
Sex
Male
Birth Year
2003
Age
23
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J22s
Artist
Cindy Hansen
Location
Friday Harbor Suites
J39
Mako
Southern Resident Orca
While growing up, Mako would rarely leave the side of his older brother Blackberry. Now, his primary travel companion is his aunt J19 Shachi.
Sex
Male
Birth Year
2003
Age
23
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J11s
Artist
Unknown
Location
Unknown
J40
Suttles
Southern Resident Orca
Suttles and J41 Eclipse (born one year apart) used to play together a lot as calves. In 2024 and 2025, both Suttles and Eclipse had calves of their own, and now their daughters play together, too!
Sex
Female
Birth Year
2004
Age
22
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J14s
Artist
Sara Shimazu
Location
Amazon
J41
Eclipse
Southern Resident Orca
When Eclipse gave birth to J51 Nova in 2015, she became the youngest Southern Resident killer whale mother on record, giving birth before the age of 10.
Sex
Female
Birth Year
2005
Age
21
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J19s
Artist
Taylor Redmond
Location
San Juan Excursions
J42
Echo
Southern Resident Orca
While her mom and two older siblings often travel close together, Echo is more of a social butterfly, often spending time with other female whales in J-Pod outside her matriline.
Sex
Female
Birth Year
2007
Age
19
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J16s
Artist
Hannah Collinge
Location
Mallard Ice Cream Belllingham
J44
Moby
Southern Resident Orca
Moby's name is a reference to Moby Dick, because his right side eyepatch looks like a white sperm whale.
Sex
Male
Birth Year
2009
Age
17
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J17s
Artist
Sara Shimazu
Location
Port of Seattle - Fisherman's Terminal
J45
Se-Yi'-Chn
Southern Resident Orca
At the end of 2025, Se-Yi'-Chn got a new notch at the base of his dorsal fin. We rarely know the cause of a specific injury, but in this case the rake marks on either side of the wound indicated it was from rough-housing with another killer whale!
Sex
Male
Birth Year
2009
Age
17
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J14s
Artist
Alli Tweedt
Location
Western Prince
J46
Star
Southern Resident Orca
After the loss of their mother J28 Polaris, Star was seen trying to support her younger brother J54 Dipper. Unfortunately, since he was still of nursing age at the time, her efforts were unsuccessful.
Sex
Female
Birth Year
2009
Age
17
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J17s
Artist
Sarah Plane
Location
Moon Water Arts, Anacortes
J47
Notch
Southern Resident Orca
Notch got his namesake marking at a young age. The size and shape of his notch has changed dramatically as his dorsal fin has grown with age.
Sex
Male
Birth Year
2010
Age
16
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J17s
Artist
Monika Wieland Shields
Location
Finn River Cidery
J49
T'ilem I'nges
Southern Resident Orca
Thanks to genetic analysis done by NOAA, we learned more about paternity in Southern Residents. While many calves at this time were found to be fathered by J1 Ruffles and L41 Mega, T'ilem I'nges is the only known whale fathered by L79 Skana.
Sex
Male
Birth Year
2012
Age
14
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J14s
Artist
Sara Shimazu
Location
Port of Seattle - Fisherman's Terminal
J51
Nova
Southern Resident Orca
While some juvenile males start roaming from their matrilines to spend more time associating with unrelated whales, Nova has maintained his strong family bonds. He often travels with his grandmother J19 Shachi or plays with his younger sisters.
Sex
Male
Birth Year
2015
Age
11
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J19s
Artist
Sara Shimazu
Location
Port of Seattle - Fisherman's Terminal
J53
Kiki
Southern Resident Orca
Kiki is one Southern Resident that has shown particular resilience. She lost her mom J17 Princess Angeline in 2019 when she was less than four years old. Thanks to her extended family, she was able to survive.
Sex
Female
Birth Year
2015
Age
11
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J17s
Artist
Unknown
Location
Unknown
J56
Tofino
Southern Resident Orca
Tofino is known for being a very surface active whale, breaching far more often than other Southern Residents.
Sex
Female
Birth Year
2019
Age
7
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J11s
Artist
Beth Woodruff / Kadie Clements
Location
UnderDog BookStore
J57
Phoenix
Southern Resident Orca
When Phoenix was a calf and his mom J35 Tahlequah was off foraging, he would often get up to amusing antics to entertain himself. These included balancing driftwood on his known, carrying kelp around in his mouth, and breach competitions with his podmate J58 Crescent.
Sex
Male
Birth Year
2020
Age
6
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J17s
Artist
Unknown
Location
Unkown
J58
Crescent
Southern Resident Orca
As the firstborn granddaughter to current J-Pod leader J19 Shachi, one wonders if young Crescent might one day be the matriarch of J-Pod!
Sex
Female
Birth Year
2020
Age
6
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J19s
Artist
Alyssa Andrews
Location
Eagle Harbor Books
J59
Sxwyeqόlh
Southern Resident Orca
All whales who are descendents of J14 Samish have been named by the Samish Indian Nation. That includes Sxwyeqólh (pronounced "Swee-a-kosh"), whose name means "brings hope for the future".
Sex
Female
Birth Year
2022
Age
4
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J14s
Artist
Orca Network
Location
Langley Whale Center, Langley
J62
Southern Resident Orca
Unlike J63, who ventures away from mom often, in her early years J62 stayed in the slipstream of her mom J41 Eclipse, rarely being babysat by others.
Sex
Female
Birth Year
Unknown
Age
Unknown
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J19s
Artist
Taylor Redmond
Location
San Juan Excursions
J63
Southern Resident Orca
J63 has an adventures spirit, comfortable traveling away from mom and with other J-Pod whales from a young age.
Sex
Female
Birth Year
Unknown
Age
Unknown
Pod
J Pod
Matriline
J14s
Artist
Sara Shimazu
Location
Amazon
K12
Sequim
Southern Resident Orca
Sequim has some of the most unique saddle patches among all Southern Residents: both sides are very wispy and also narrow. On the left side in particular, her saddle patch barely extends under her dorsal fin at all!
Sex
Female
Birth Year:
1972
Age:
January 1, 1972
Pod
Matriline
J17s
Artist
Monika Wieland Shields
Location
San Juan Safaris/Riptide Coffee Shop
K14
Lea
Southern Resident Orca
K14 was originally named Leon when it was believed she was a male. When it was discovered she was in fact a female, they adjusted her name to Lea instead. Coincidentally, the same thing happened to L14, who was originally named Cordelia. When he was discovered to be a male, they changed his name to Cordy.
Sex
Female
Birth Year:
1977
Age:
January 1, 1977
Pod
Matriline
J17s
Artist
Location
K16
Opus
Southern Resident Orca
Male Southern Residents receive survival benefits from their mothers into adulthood. The Center for Whale Research has demonstrated this "son cost" through their census data, where having a son decreases future reproductive output of a mom. Opus is one example of this. After giving birth to K35 Sonata in 2002 at age 17, she was never documented having another calf.
Sex
Female
Birth Year:
1985
Age:
January 1, 1985
Pod
Matriline
J17s
Artist
Location
K20
Spock
Southern Resident Orca
Along with J16 Slick, Spock is one of the female Southern Residents that was briefly listed as a male in the ID guides. Both females have taller fins, leading reseachers to believe they might have been sprouter males, until they returned with their first calves.
Sex
Female
Birth Year:
1986
Age:
January 1, 1986
Pod
Matriline
J17s
Artist
Location
K22
Sekiu
Southern Resident Orca
In addition to her distinct wispy saddle patches, another of Sekiu's identifying features is what we call a "black spine". This refers to the gray saddle patch not extending fully to the line of the back, resulting in black pigment along the spine of the whale when viewed from the side.
Sex
Female
Birth Year:
1987
Age:
January 1, 1987
Pod
Matriline
J17s
Artist
Sara Shimazu
Location
Maya's Legacy office, Friday Harbor
K27
Deadhead
Southern Resident Orca
Usually, Southern Residents enter and exit the Salish Sea through the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but occasionally they come over the "top" of Vancouver Island and down Johnstone Strait entering the Strait of Georgia from the north. Deadhead was part of a group that returned to inland waters this way several summers in a row, most recently in 2021.
Sex
Female
Birth Year:
1994
Age:
January 1, 1994
Pod
Matriline
J17s
Artist
Location
K33
Tika
Southern Resident Orca
Monika has always thought of K33 as a shape-shifting killer whale. He looks so different at different angles that she's mistaken him for almost every other adult whale in the population at some point in time.
Sex
Male
Birth Year:
2001
Age:
January 1, 2001
Pod
Matriline
J17s
Artist
Rachel Pettit
Location
Maya's Legacy office, Friday Harbor
K35
Sonata
Southern Resident Orca
The K16s (Sonata's matriline) and the K18s (a now extinct matriline) used to occasionally travel separately from the rest of K-Pod. Sonata seemed particularly close with K21 Cappuccino, the last living member of the K18s. Interestingly, since Cappuccino's death in 2021, K-Pod has moved as a more cohesive unit again with it becoming rare for Sonata and his mom to break off.
Sex
Male
Birth Year:
2002
Age:
January 1, 2002
Pod
Matriline
J17s
Artist
Rebecca Berger
Location
Marrowstone Vineywards, Port Townsend
K36
Yoda
Southern Resident Orca
All Southern Resident calves are a cause for celebration, but Yoda's birth of her first calf K47 in 2025 was particularly exciting. As the smallest of the three pods with the fewest number of reproductive females, having another successful mom in K-Pod was a huge beacon of hope.
Sex
Female
Birth Year:
2003
Age:
January 1, 2003
Pod
Matriline
J17s
Artist
Carrie McCoy
Location
Sunnyside Environmental School (Oregon)
K37
Rainshadow
Southern Resident Orca
A rain shadow occurs on the leeward side of a mountain range, where protection from prevailing winds leads to much drier conditions. K37 Rainshadow's name is a reference to his mom K12 Sequim; Sequim is a town in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, and gets less than half the rain that Seattle does.
Sex
Male
Birth Year:
2003
Age:
January 1, 2003
Pod
Matriline
J17s
Artist
Sara Baldwin
Location
K38
Comet
Southern Resident Orca
Comet is one of a few Southern Resident males whose fins have not grown to their expected height. At over 20 years old, his fin still looks like that of a young sprouter male.
Sex
Male
Birth Year:
2004
Age:
January 1, 2004
Pod
Matriline
J17s
Artist
Location
L22
Spirit
Southern Resident Orca
Spirit's estimated birth year is 1971, the same year that the last live capture of Southern Residents occurred. Three members of L-Pod were taken that year, and had the captures continued, Spirit likely would have also been taken in subsequent years for display in marine aquaria.
Sex
Female
Birth Year:
1971
Age:
January 1, 1971
Pod
Matriline
J17s
Artist
Amanda Colbert
Location
Eagle Wing Whale Watching
