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Killer whales of southern Alaska
Two types of killer whales inhabit the Gulf of Alaska: the resident killer whales and the transient killer whales. Although they partially share the same habitat, they never associate or interbreed. Genetical studies showed that, originating from a common ancestor, they have evolved seprately for generations, and are probably becoming two different species. As a result of this segregation, they now have radically different ways of life. The strongest difference lies in the diet: residents essentially feed on fish when transients prey upon marine mammals (seals, sea lions, porpoises, dolphins and large whales). All killer whales are gregarious, social animals. However, residents live in tight-bonded groups of 7-30 individuals called "pods," composed of mothers and their offspring, while transients form smaller (less 10 individuals) and more fluid social groups. In addition, and on the contrary to residents, transient offspring may leave the maternal group to join another.
Here is a description of the identified resident pods and transient groups that you may encounter in the Gulf of Alaska. But before enjoying these wild animals, please read the guidelines for observing marine mammals.
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AB pod
The 25 whales that now make up the AB pod include the 18 that still swim together and the 7 (AB25 subpod) that mainly travel with AJ pod. In recent years they have been seen less often in southwestern Prince William Sound; however they have been encountered more frequently in the Kenai Fjords region in fall and winter. While the number of whales in AB pod has increased slightly in recent years, they have not yet recovered to the pre-spill number of 36 whales. Easily recognizable individuals are AB5, AB14 and AB17.
AB pod is composed of three subpods named AB17, AB25, and AB10, after the matriarchs around which each subpod is centered. Prior to 1993, when AB25 subpod began to associate with AJ pod, all three subpods traveled together, but maintained some degree of separation, especially during rest periods. From a distance, a resting AB pod typically appeared as three cohesive groups, each slightly separated from one another, quietly milling in the same area.
Older, post-reproductive females like AB10 ("grannies") seem to direct the activities of the entire pod. They are very possibly both leaders and repositories of knowledge for the pod. Often when an old female dies, her sons are not long to follow. The reason for that life-long tight bond between an adult male killer whale and his mother is a mystery. Perhaps these males lose status in the group when their mother dies.
The AB10 subpod is actually a single matrilineal group composed of a mother, AB10 and her two presumed adult sons (another probable son AB4 recently died). For reasons that are unclear, matrilineal groups that are primarily comprised of males tend to travel at a distance from the rest of the pod.
One of the tragedies of the interaction of AB pod with longline fisheries and the subsequent Exxon Valdez oil spill was the extinction of the largest matrilineal lineage within the pod. The two presumed sisters, AB6 and AB7, were matriarchs for this lineage, and they died just prior to the oil spill. The death of AB7 and her juvenile, AB12, may have been related to bullet wounds they received during interactions with longline fisheries in 1985 and 1986. The two daughters, AB8 and AB23, both had healthy young calves just prior to the spill; however, both these mothers died following the spill, and their orphan calves, AB36 and AB41, managed to survive only a few years before perishing. Two other juveniles in the group, AB18 and AB37, also died about the time oil first swept across Prince William Sound. That left the male, AB3, as the lone survivor of this ravaged group. With his dorsal fin in a state of collapse, and in poor condition, he managed to survive for several years until he vanished in 1996.
AD5 pod
This pod of 17 whales is infrequently observed in Prince William Sound but is sighted more often in Kenai Fjords region and Kachemak Bay. The pod also has been photographed in Kodiak Island waters over 360 miles southwest of Prince William Sound. Originally it was thought that AD5 and AD16 was a single pod, but further observations indicated otherwise. We believe AD5 pod centers its range between Kenai Fjords and Kodiak Island. Recently, we have observed this group in the early spring along the western shore of Resurrection Bay, diving deeply where we suspect they feed on king salmon. Easy to recognize individuals: AD5 and AD2.
AD16 pod
This pod of seven whales is frequently seen in the Kenai Fjords region, although its range also extend southwest, probably as far as Kodiak Island. During the summer months, this pod is seen often along the shoreline and in coves along the west side of Resurrection Bay. Originally thought to be part of AD5 pod, AD16 pod is now most often seen with AK pod. AD13 and AD14 are its most recognizable members.
AE pod
 AE1's curling fin a few years ago |
In recent years AE pod has become the most frequently observed pod in Prince William Sound. Their total number is 16, with the most recent addition of a new calf born in 1998. In 1984, when we first encountered them, they were very shy and difficult to approach. Over the years, they have become much more approachable and often friendly. In the mid 1990's, tour boats using the northern Sound began to call the "circus pod" because of their playfulness and the wild behavior of new calves. In recent years, they seem to be the only pod consistently present in the Sound, the apparent center of their range. A cohesive pod, they generally travel together, although they often form two distinct subgroups that separate for short periods, especially during rest. Recognizable whales are AE1, AE9, and AE10.
The animal that easily distinguishes AE pod is the large male AE1. AE1's unique dorsal fin has been down-curled for years; however, in recent years, the fin has formed in a shape of almost like a question mark when viewed from behind. We've recently named AE1, "Jack", after a Chenega Native man who, before he died years ago, told his relatives that he would return as a killer whale with a partially bent over dorsal fin. A traditional belief among some coastal Alaskan Native people is that they become killer whales after they die.
AF pod
AF5 subpod
This pod is composed of two subpods, AF5 and AF22, that have often traveled separately in recent years. The AF5 subpod contains 28 whales and the AF22 subpod contains 21 whales. AF pod has grown dramatically in recent years with the addition of many new calves. In the spring, they may be seen in Juneau and Icy Strait region, possibly feeding on salmon. In southeastern Alaskan, these whales range from Frederick Sound, where they intermingle with British Columbia northern residents such as R pod, to Icy Strait and Glacier Bay, where they are seen with AG pod. AF pod also made annual trips to Prince William Sound in the mid-1980s and mixed with pods from that region; but they have been observed outside of southeastern Alaska in recent years.
AF22 subpod
Killer whales have the ability to move rapidly over large distances. In the 1980s AF pod, most often observed in central southeastern Alaska, traveled occasionally to western Prince William Sound 590 miles away. In 1986, they were photographed in Prince William Sound in August, then in southeastern Alaska in September, and again in Prince William Sound in October, making two visits in just two months.
AG pod
This growing pod of 27 whales appears to center its range in southeastern Alaska, where it has been photographed in every month of the year. It is the most wide-ranging resident pod we have tracked, appearing in photographs from central and northern southeastern Alaska, Prince William Sound, Kenai Fjords and as far southwest as Kachemak Bay on the end of the Kenai Peninsula. This range spans a thousand miles of coastline. From 1992 through 1998 they were photographed in the Prince William Sound/Kenai Fjords region in every year except 1995. They generally visit the region in the month of August and join in large multipod groups or "superpods." They are a lively group of whales, and are often very playful. They remind us of AB pod prior to the oil spill. Easily recognizable individuals include AG2, AG4, and AG5.
AG pod individuals have been seen pursuing several species of fish including halibut. In one case, two AG individuals swam temporarily with ten Dall's porpoises as both cetaceans species milled rapidly together apparently in pursuit of the same fish schools.
The arrival of AG pod in Prince William Sound, usually some time in August, is a dramatic event for local killer whals. We don't understand how such information is received and passed on, but soon after AG pod's arrival in the area, many of the resident pods from the Prince William Sound/Kenai Fjords region join them for hours or days of intense social activity. For several years in the mid-1990s, these large social aggregations of 100 or more killer whales occured within a day or two of August 1. In 1992, AG pod traveled from Icy Strait in southeastern Alaska to Prince William Sound in just six days. This is the fastest travel time we have documented between these areas, with a minimum average speed of 5 miles an hour or 100 miles a day.
AI pod
When the study began in 1983, AI pod, a single matrilineal group which currently numbers 7 whales, seemed to be in the process of splitting off from AB pod. AI pod now travels independently of AB pod, although the two pods share very similar vocal dialects. In fact, when pods split, it gives us the opportunity to study how vocal dialects evolve.
AI pod travels regularly through Prince William Sound with occasional visits to the Kenai Fjords area. Four of the seven whales in AI pod are adult males, all presumed sons of the matriarch AI3. The most recognizable members of this pod are AI1 and AI2.
AI pod contains three generations. AI4 was born to the matriarch AI3 in late winter or spring 1984. In 1996, when she was 12 years old, AI4 bore her fist calf, AI7. She is the first female born during the study to have matured and produced her own calf.
Because AI4's mother, AI3, is at least 40 years old and had not been seen with a calf in 13 years, we were surprised when she gave birth to a new calf in fall of 1997. Unfortunately, the little calf was gone the following summer.
AJ pod
This is the largest of our regularly observed pods in the Prince William Sound/Kenai Fjords region. AJ pod increased in size dramatically from 25 animals in 1984 to 38 animals in 1998, so it has many playful juveniles. In addition, seven whales from AB pod (the AB25 subpod) have often been traveling with AJ pod since 1994. AJ pod has been frequently sighted in the Resurrection Bay area in September and early October during the past several years, often with all of AB pod either nearby or swimming with them. In the early 1990s, AJ pod was commonly seen in southwestern Prince William Sound for days or weeks at a time, especially in August and September. More recently, it's been only occasionally sighted there. Easy recognizable animals are AJ4 and AJ21.
AK pod
AK pod is one of the most frequently seen pods in Prince William Sound and Kenai Fjords. Unlike other pods such as AB, AJ and AN10, which are most commonly seen in late summer, AK pod is seen from May through September, seeming to center its range in this area. This pod of 12 whales sometimes splits into two groups. AK pod seems to specialize in foraging nearshore; we have watched them feed on halibut in shallow waters. They also love to rub on beaches composed of small, rounded rocks. They use several different rubbing locations in Prince William Sound as well as in Kenai Fjords and Resurrection Bay. Their flanks often show many fine scratches from this rubbing activity. They are a personable group of whales, often friendly and approachable, except when are rubbing on beaches. Easily recognized individuals include AK1, AK2, AK3 and AK8.
AN10 pod
Until 1992, this group of 20 whales was part of a larger AN pod that suddenly split in two. The other part of the pod (now called AN20 pod) has been seen so rarely in recent years that it is not included in this catalogue. The AN10s make sporadic appearances in Prince William Sound but have been seen regularly in Kenai Fjords in recent years, especially in late summer. The pod is distinguished by the recognizable whales AN3, AN7, AN8 and AN10.
AX pod
In our previous catalogue of Prince William Sound killer whales, the AX assemblage included photographs of 54 individuals taken during a single encounter in Montague Strait, Prince William Sound in 1990. Determining pod composition requires many encounters and hundreds of photographs, and we suspected that this aggregation consisted of more than one pod. Many of those original AX whales have not been resighted since. We have sufficient recent photographs to include only a portion of the original assemblage in the current catalogue. These are presented here with genealogies based on our observations. We suspect that the whales depicted here represent a single pod. AX pod is seen occasionally in the Kenai Fjords region, as part of multi-pod gatherings. Some AX whales have been photographed in Kodiak Island waters over 360 miles from the Sound, and we believe that they generally range southwest of Kenai Fjords. Recognizable whales include AX30, AX31, AX32 and AX42.
AT1 group
Unlike the other transients in the Kenai Fjords/Prince William Sound region that seem to roam widely, the unique AT1 transients (also known as the Prince William Sound transients) have only been photographed in the Prince William Sound/Kenai Fjords region. This group numbered 22 whales in the 1980s, but since the Exxon Valdez oil spill this number has dropped to 10 whales. They are proposed for listing as a threatened or endangered population. This group has been documented in Prince William Sound year-round. AT1 transients know the intricate coastlines of their habitat precisely, after generations of searching for harbor seals, one of their preferred food items. In contrast to residents, AT1 transients are difficult to find, because they frequently slink quietly along beaches and close to rocky areas where harbor seals haul out. They often follow all convolutions of the shoreline as they hunt, entering bays and. We often see AT1 killer whales foraging in the Icy Bay, a glacial fjord in Prince William Sound, also a traditional seal hunting area for Native residents of Chenega Village. Unlike resident killer whales, which travel in large, stable, extended family groups, the stealthy hunting tactics of transients keep their group sizes small. Nonetheless, AT1 transient groups still reflect long-term associations among whales. Some of these groups are unusual in composition. Transient groups consisting of one or two males are not unusual.
GOA (Gulf of Alaska) transients
The transients in this population, unlike the AT1 transients, are seen infrequently and sporadically in Prince William Sound/Kenai Fjords. Eight of these transients have been genetically sampled. All differ in mitochondrial DNA from both the AT1's and the transients of British Columbia and southeastern Alaska. We have provisionally termed these sampled whales, and others that have been linked to them either acoustically or by association, the Gulf of Alaska transients. It is not uncommon for many years -- up to a decade or more -- to pass between sightings of any particular transient whale (except for the AT1s and some Gulf of Alaska transients such as AT109 also called Matushka). The habits of these whales are unknown, but their rarity in our region suggests that they center their range elsewhere or roam widely. Unfortunately, little photographic data exists from areas west of Kenai Fjords, although whales that are occasionally photographed in Prince William Sound have been identified in pictures taken off Kodiak Island, 400 miles to the West. We are just beginning studies of these whales in the Kodiak area and regions to the West of Kodiak. Gulf of Alaska transient whales may remain in an area for days or weeks, especially in regions where there are harbor seal or Steller sea lion haulouts. Then they may move on and not be seen again in that area for extended periods; sometimes for years. During June of 1994 the whales AC1, AC2, AC4 and AU2, AU3, and AU4 were frequently observed in and near Valdez Arm by tourboat operators such as Chris Toma and Tex Edwards, who supplied us with pictures for identification. Repeatedly these whales killed sea lions in front of stunned onlookers. They have rarely been seen in this area since. Matushka (AT109) an adult female is often attacking Steller sea lions sometimes with her son, AT108. We have seen them repeatedly near the Needle, a sea lion haul out in Montague Strait, Prince William Sound and at the Steller sea lion rookery at the Chiswell Islands, Kenai Fjords. In general, the Gulf of Alaska transient killer whales seem to have more nicks or gouges in their dorsal fins than resident killer whales or the AT1 transients. These wounds may result from encounters with Steller sea lions, and which can be larger and more aggressive than harbor seals or Dalls porpoises.
