Capra (AD31)

Lively Capra was born in 1998, he is the second calf of Ginny (AD8); the first was born in 1994 but did not survive its first winter. Capra does have a younger sibling (AD35) born in 2001 that we have not yet named. He and his new sibling are often side by side swimming a ways behind their mother. Capra often swims near the boat and stares up at us, then swims under the bow. It took us four years before we have a chance to see Capra's underside and finally learn that he is a male due to the form of his genital slit. Another way to determine his sex would have been to take a skin sample and run genetic analyses. Capra was looking lively and well when we last saw him in September 2002 although he does have a nick at the bottom of his dorsal fin... perhaps from rough play with other whales. He still seems to love to play with his younger cousin Nanwalek (AD33) born in the winter of 2000/2001, who we suspect may also be a male... The two little whales frequently chase each other, slap their tails, and swim across each other's backs. Capra also plays with his uncle, Herring Pete (AD19), a friendly young male.
The AD5 pod to which Capra belongs currently numbers 16 whales. We frequently see Capra in May and June in Kenai Fjords where the pod hunts king (Chinook) salmon. They also travel as far as Kodiak and are often seen in the fall in Kachemak Bay (near Homer) where they feed on silver (coho) salmon. Occasionally they are also seen in Prince William Sound.

May 8th, 2003 update

Today was the first day since last fall that we have spent with AD5 pod. We were glad to find that Capra (AD31) is alive and well... to say the least. He was the most rambunctious whale in the pod... chasing the other younger juveniles, Nanwalek (named after a native village) and Auriga and leading them over to the boat where they played on the bow over and over. Capra made some high leaps... the picture is evidence of his high jumping ability! He also swam along with the boat, seeming to recognize Eva when she leaned over and signaled to him. He approached her repeatedly alongside the boat as you can see in the other picture. He has another nick.. probably due to his rough playing and a little grey mottling in his saddle patch, but otherwise seems very robust and healthy. It was fortunate that the National Park Service Ranger, Doug Capra, who we named Capra was leading a tour on another boat. We called them over so that all the people on the tourboat could see that Capra was, indeed, alive and well!

October 6th, 2003 update !!!

This spunky young whale spent time near Kodiak Island this summer and has been seen in Kachemak Bay, in front of Homer where NGOS has its office. The AD5 pod that he is part of tends to roam from Kenai Fjords in the spring to Kodiak later in the summer and to Kachemak Bay in the Fall… a range that spans over 400 miles. This year there was a good run of coho or silver salmon into Kachemak Bay and Capra and his pod (AD5 pod) where there to share the bounty. Capra is capable of catching fish on his own, but is still often near his mother and may still share in her catch. He looked well fed and lively, and we hope he has a good winter. We probably won't see him again until the AD5s show up in Resurrection Bay in late winter or early spring.

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