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HOW
TO ADOPT A WHALE
Step
1: DECIDE ON A MEMBERSHIP PACKAGE
Review the Membership Packages and select a package that suits
you.
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Step
2:
DECIDE ON A WHALE
To adopt a whale, make your choice by referring to the family trees.
Each whale has been identified with its scientific number, adoption
name, gender, and year of birth. |
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Step
3: PURCHASE OPTIONS
ONLINE:
Click above link to purchase your adoption package online.
PRINT
& MAIL: find the printable form here.
Please print and mail adoption form to our street address.
B.C. Wild Killer Whale Adoption Program - Vancouver Aquarium Marine
Science Centre
P.O. Box 3232 - Vancouver, BC, Canada - V6B 3X8
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KEY
to help you interpret the family relationships
in killer whale groups.
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| Clan
A clan refers to Pods that are linked by sharing a similar
vocal dialect and have probably descended from a common ancestral
group. A-clan is one of three clans in the Northern resident
community. |
| Pod
A Pod is a group of related whales that tends to travel
together most of the time. The A1 Pod is one of ten Pods in
the A-clan and had 15 whales in the 1998 field census. |
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Matriline
A Matriline is part of a Pod that always travels together.
Each Matriline is a closely related family unit comprised
of a matriarch and her offspring.
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CHOOSE
A WHALE TO ADOPT
Northern Residents, Southern Residents and Transient Killer Whales
FAMILY TREES (start here
to view all trees)
Northern Residents: These killer whales generally travel in
large Pods of closely related individuals within predictable
ranges and feed primarily on fish. The northern resident
community patrols the waters off northern Vancouver Island
and the mainland north coast as far as southeast Alaska.The
northern resident community of whales includes the following
nine Pods:
Click on the links below to view the individual whales within
their matrilines and groups.
A1
Pod |
A4
Pod |
A5
Pod |
B1
Pod |
C1
Pod |
D1
Pod |
G1
Pod |
I11
Pod |
R1
Pod |
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Southern Residents: These killer whales generally travel in large Pods of closely related individuals within predictable ranges and feed primarily on fish. The southern resident community patrols the waters off southern Vancouver Island around Georgia Strait and the San Juan Islands. The southern resident community of whales includes the following three Pods:
Click on the links below to view the individual whales within their matrilines and groups. |
J
Pod |
J
Pod |
K
Pod |
L
Pod |
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TRANSIENTS: These killer whales roam over large areas of the coast in smaller groups, feeding on marine mammals such as seals and sea lions. Individual B.C. transients have been spotted as far away as western Alaska and the California coast. All B.C transients share a common dialect. Transients have a much looser social structure than residents and do not usually form large kinship groupings.
The B.C. community of transients includes the following six groups:
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In 1973, Canadian scientists began compiling
photographs of killer whales off southwest B.C. using
physical characteristics such as nicks, scars and the
shape of dorsal fins to identify individual whales.
This pioneer photo identification program, now an annual
event, has enabled scientists to construct detailed
family trees for each Pod. These are the whales that
you can choose from to adopt.
To adopt a whale, make your choice by referring to the
family trees above. Each whale has been identified with
its scientific number, adoption name, gender, and year
of birth. (see key to right).
For
more on family trees see clans
in the fieldnotes section.
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