Blackstone (AJ21)

Blackstone has two very distinctive notches in his dorsal fin and is often recognized by the tourboat operators when AJ pod comes to Kenai Fjords. He was born about 1976 and is now a fully mature, full-grown male. His dorsal fin is over 5 feet tall. He is of breeding age and often wanders out of his pod when there are other pods around (during superpod aggregations). We suspect he is approaching females in the other pods in hopes of mating with them. Males never breed within their own pods, since the pod members are all close relatives. Blackstone is now in his prime breeding years; males often die in their thirties at a much earlier age than females. When AJ pod travels alone, Blackstone can still be seen near his mother Mistral (AJ20). Male resident killer whales stay near their mothers for life, unless playing with whales in other pods or visiting females in those pods. Blackstone belongs to AJ pod, the largest pod in the Kenai Fjords/Prince William Sound region, numbering 36 whales. We often see Blackstone with his pod in Kenai Fjords or Prince William Sound in the late summer and in the winter.

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