October 2021 - Who is Onyx L-87 with now?

A year has gone by. And this year, at least for a while Onyx was with the L subpod which consists of several matrlines.  Who specifically among those? I think the answer is, 'only he knows for sure.'  How would we know since they haven't been in the inland waters much at all this year.

The whales travel is changing, social groupings are changing and social groups are different, more so than in years past...  1) when there were more intact family groups, 2) when there were more whales in the entire community, 3) when they were here on a consistent basis as they 'used to be' in the spring, summer and fall, 4) when they didn't have to spread out for miles in search of food, 5) when there were fewer interruptions to their own personal lives, etc...

We know more of what they aren't doing than what they are doing.

For example, even though he was with that L subpod earlier in the year, word was that recently Onyx showed up with J Pod.  HOWEVER, it wasn't clear if he was the ONLY L Pod whale present.

We know that he has 'connections' with each pod, as they all do, but he seems to have a different connection.  Could it be from him having switched pods several times that he 'has connections' with each? Could it have anything to do with him having been with Granny J-2 (the matriarch of the SRKW community until her death in 2016) when she was still alive?  Did he receive some kind of 'status' from that? (just grasping at straws here.)

Only the whales know for sure.

All I know is that I care and I hope you care and want these whales to survive and to recover from the downfall that has been occurring to their community for the last several years. Actually it's more than just several years.  When I first came here in the late 1990's the SRKWs were being referred to as 'like the canary in the coal mine'. 

If you don't know what 'like a canary in the coat mine' means then please look it up.  It's serious and it matters.

May Onyx live long and keep us wondering.  Hopefully enough people will see how important all the whales in the SRKW Community are that they are willing to change what they are doing to help them recover.

Thanks for reading this, if you did.

Jeanne Hyde

July 2020 - Who is Onyx Traveling With Now?

July 2020

Who is Onyx traveling with now?

Onyx was not seen with the K12s or K13s when they were here in early July.
Onyx was not seen with J Pod when they spent two weeks in the San Juans.

Onyx was seen with three K Pod whales and with 18 L Pod whales when they came in from the north entrance to these inland waters and during the couple days they were present off San Juan Island.

Who was he seen with?...well with only three K Pod whales and 18 L Pod whales it wasn't a specifically easy task to determine who he 'was with'...because the whales were mixed in and not in a specific travel mode.

I have a couple different whales he was near, but the whales were very distant, making it non-productive to guess...so...

...waiting for his next return.  And in addition, it might take multiple occasions to determine what if anyone specific.

He does keep us aware and watching!

Onyx's Story Through My Eyes - Whale of A Purpose

Originally posted 2-16-14 to tell Onyx's unfolding story.  This is one long post that is updated from time to time.

See bottom of this post for encounters added. 
Updated with text on 02-23-2020

February 16, 2014
Onyx L-87 is getting a lot more attention these days because he is a whale who was satellite tagged by NOAA researchers in late December, 2013.
Some people have asked about his story...so here's what I know.

Short version: 
His mother died. He switched from L to K pod.
Traveled with them until the oldest female died in 2010.
He moved to J pod and has been with them since, August 2010.

Below is the longer version.  
I am just building the pieces of the story for this blog.
I will be adding images and more details to this post. At the bottom of this post I'll add links when I post more to his story that is prior to February 2014.

I don't know Onyx's history prior to 2005.  I only know he belonged to the group commonly called the L12s.
His mother was Olympia L-32.
She had another living offspring, Onyx's older sister, Spirit L-22.
He has one living nephew, Solstice L-89.

Olympia died in the fall of 2005.
I believe he began traveling with K pod during 2006, but I just don't remember for sure.
By 2007 he was definitely with K pod and mainly he traveled with Lummi K-7 and Georgia K-11.
He was seen traveling with them all the time from 2007 until August of 2010.

Lummi K-7 died in 2008.
Georgia K-11 died in 2010.  K pod had come in to these waters in early June. They 'showed off' new baby K-43, who I had spotted on the February 21st encounter and the Center for Whale Research confirmed on June 9th, when the whales were inbound.
K pod was present for a couple days and then went west for several weeks.
When they returned in late July, Georgia wasn't with them. Some K pod whales and the L12s passed the lighthouse going north...other Ks and J pod were already to the north.

The next memorable encounter with Onyx occurred on August 3rd.  I noticed him traveling on the outer edges of some of the Group B whales. 

On August 3rd, when we (Maya's Westside Charters) encountered J pod, Onyx was traveling very close to Spieden J-8. So close it looked like he was about to lay his dorsal fin on her back, which I have seen one other whale do.

From then on he was seen with Spieden, until her disappearance in the fall of 2013.

During the 2013 season, I noticed that he was traveling with Granny J-2 more often.  One encounter while out on Capt. Jim's boat, we watched Granny and Onyx spending time together.  They were not traveling, more milling about.
Spieden was off with Shachi J-19 and her offspring, Eclipse J41.  It lasted for quite a while before the five whales joined up together and began traveling. That was unusual.  

On the day in October when Spieden was first NOT seen, there were 'alarm buttons' going off in our heads...why is Onyx with Granny and not Spieden? It wasn't long before we knew that she was no longer here.

So often we have to put things together after the fact.  And this was one of those times....and it continues to be that way.

- March 23, 2017 posting -
In the fall of 2016 Granny J-2, Onyx's companion, died...now what would Onyx do? That's a question that keeps coming up...and there are many wanting to know.
...a few things so far - Onyx has been seen with just about all the whales in J Pod - at one time or another...the closest tie that I had noticed, even last fall, was with the J14s.  That would make sense because they are part of Granny's line. He was seen traveling more with Suttles J-40 and Se-Yi-Chn J-45 when I saw them in the fall and not with Hy'Shqa J-37 - well, J-37 is now the matriarch of the family and I suppose she might have other things to keep her busy...for the time being anyway - like her youngster, J-49...and like when I saw J-37 and Oreo J-22 traveling together (that was unusual).
...one thing that intrigues me, and means absolutely nothing, is that IF the studies of these whales had just begun (say, like last fall) then would Suttles J-40 be thought to be an adult female?...and what might her estimated age have been?...
...Onyx has been seen traveling with Mike J-26, with Blackberry J-27 (they have a known history of buddy-ing up from time to time)...Mako and Se-Yi-Chn and Onyx - is he now 'uncle Onyx'?...
...the most recent encounter that I had was on the 16th of March and others had a day or two later.  So, on the 16th (link to that encounter at bottom of page) of March he, as well as Mike and Blackberry, each spending time off to themselves foraging...later on they began to join the others...Blackberry and his sister Tsuchi were traveling off into the sunset together; Onyx was seen moving toward Hy-Shqa J-37 and a few others, etc...
A few days later when J Pod was in the Strait of Juan de Fuca heading west...a friend told me that Onyx (her favorite!) was seen with the J17s...now that would make for an interesting 'group composition' look.
So the question remains, Who is Onyx traveling with now?  
It seems to depend on the day/time...at least for now. 

March 28-30 - Onyx and the J17s have split from J Pod.  It was first noticed when they were seen coming down San Juan Channel on March 28th, late in the day. No other J Pod whales were seen.
On March 29th the rest of J Pod was seen, first on the west side of Orcas Island. They crossed over the north end and went down Rosario Strait but no one knows for sure how far past Peapod Rocks they got.  The J17s and Onyx were not there.  They were seen (from a report) at Pt. Wilson sometime that day.
March 30th the J17s and Onyx were seen in Puget Sound and were believed to be the only J Pod whales there...and seen again a few more days before heading west.

May 7, 2017 - J Pod returned today, after being gone for five weeks. Who would Onyx be with?  Where he was and who he was with on this occasion when they passed by Lime Kiln going up island:
he was with Cookie J-38, a sprouting male...and those two were the trailing whales.  That was only for that time for yesterday so far.  Onyx has no idea (ha!) how much he is being watched :)

...some questions:
Will the whales realign themselves as this new era (loss of Granny) progresses? 

Even if the whales don't continue their split Group A and Group B (as they did since 2010) will they continue with their tight alliances when they travel as a full pod now, like they did when all of J Pod traveled together during that time?
Or is this a time for some relationships to become stronger?
Might there also be other changes when K and L pods return?  
We are in a position of privilege to watch and learn as this next chapter unfolds.


November 29, 2017 - in the earlier part of the season Onyx was traveling with the J17 family and for a while it seemed like this might be a permanent arrangement.  But later, J Pod seemed to be blending together more and not as split into specific groups as they had been.  On several occasions Onyx was seen traveling with Cookie J-38 and other times with Blackberry and his siblings.  For now, at least, he has remained with J Pod.  

August 1, 2018 - When seen this year Onyx has continued to travel with J Pod and with various whales in the pod, including the J17s. On one occasion he was with Blackberry J-27.  The two of them were miles south and stayed there as the rest of J Pod went up island passing Lime Kiln lighthouse...but soon Tsuchi J-31, Blackberry's sister, Oreo J-22 and her only living offspring, Cookie J-38 came back down island...by the end of the day those five whales were seen heading west past Victoria toward the open ocean. Since they returned he has been seen often off by himself, foraging. On July 31, L Pod came in, including the L12s.  Sometime in the night they met up with J Pod and eventually they all went up island, the L12s in the manner they usually do...behind the rest of the whales, so that they can change their direction. Yep, that is what they did. But the most interesting this is that Onyx, who in the past, would visit with his 'official' pod and then leave and stay with J Pod.  Well, last evening they did go up and they did come back down...and today August 1 it was learned that Onyx did NOT leave the L12s but stayed with them!  This is the first time since 2006 that he has done that!

February 23, 2020 - Looking back to 2019
2019 was a year a brief encounters with SKRWs in areas they have most commonly gone to during the spring, summer and early fall.  Early in the year Onyx was traveling with J Pod and since he had been spending time with Princess Angeline's matriline and because she was slowly dying (sorry, but that's what it was) there was interest to see what he might do.  He was seen with J Pod on most of the encounters. However, in August, an early morning encounter with J Pod as they came up island in a resting pattern, Onyx and also the J16s (who are an independent family unit) were not present.  He did 'reunite' with J Pod and was seen with J Pod during winter encounters when in Puget Sound. Hopefully his story will continue into 2020.

Added: 
Encounter:  July 2009 Onyx Visits With a Relative
Encounter:  June 2014 Onyx Spent the Day with the L12s  
Encounter:  July 21, 2014 Breaking News About Killer Whale Onyx L-87
Encounter:  July 17, 2015  What is L87 Up To?
Encounter:  March 16, 2017  J Pod Being J Pod
Encounter:  May 7, 2017  Pod Returns After Being Gone Five Weeks
Encounter:  Jul 31, 2018  J and L Pods on Last Day of July
Encounter:  February  23, 2020  (see text above)
Encounter:  August 2, 2020 Who is Onyx Traveling With Now?

June 2014 - Onyx Spent the Day With the L12s

Posts can only be listed by date.
Posts that occur after February 16, 2014 will be posted as a prior date with the correct date in the title of each post.
This keeps the original page at the front.



Onyx continues to travel with J Pod and has visited with his L12 family when they were here on June 3rd and again on June 19th.
On June 3rd he spent the day with the L12s and the J17 family group. Mixed in with them were several other J Pod whales.  However, when they traveled north Onyx, the J17s, and the L12s traveled behind the rest of J Pod by a short distance, maybe less than a mile. However, when the next day arrived the L12s had departed taking the J17s with them, but Onyx remained with J Pod.
It seemed a perfect 'set up' for him to leave with them had he wanted, but that did not happen.

On June 19th when the L12s returned, this time bringing in several other L Pod family groups, Onyx was seen socializing with lots of others as well as the L12s.

In late June as the whales were traveling to the north, Onyx did several dorsal fin slaps.
Here's a link to that post: Orca Dorsal Fin Slap Demonstration

Early July 2009 - Onyx Visits with a Relative

By the date of this encounter, Onyx had been 'living with' K Pod permanently for a couple years.

This is just one encounter of him visiting with his L Pod family.

At Lime Kiln Pt. State Park, 9:30 in the morning, just about all the whales had passed by going up island.
But then I saw four whales approaching.

Distinctly two pairs.  One tall fin and one short fin in each pair.
I could see a slight 'hook' to the right at the tip of the dorsal fin of one of the males. That was Mystery L-85.
Then the other male surfaced.  It was Onyx. He has a very distinct dorsal fin.

It is believed that Mystery is Onyx's cousin. Mystery was born a year before Onyx.  (Center for Whale Research Orca Survey). 

So who were the females?

As they got closer I saw Georgia K-11 with her open saddle patch.
The other was Alexis L-12, who is a relative to both Onyx and Mystery. 

The two boys moved up ahead of Georgia and Alexis. Mystery surfaced, turning in toward the shore.

Then he surfaced right along the rocks with kelp draped on him.

Onyx surfaced up ahead, past us.

As the two boys - Mystery on the right - rounded the lighthouse, Georgia and Alexis were a hundred yards or so behind them.
Mystery Up. Still in the kelp.

Both boys fin tips.

Onyx up.

It was as if the two boys were having some visiting time together.
By the next sighting Ks and Onyx were not with any other L Pod whales.


Many people have witnessed Onyx visiting with his L Pod family members, and each time he goes back to his adoptive mom, at first in K Pod and now it in J Pod.