UPDATE: Nodales has been seen with a calf, A85! -summer 2006

The A25s were originally known as the A14s. They were well known by early researchers because at the beginning of the study, they consisted of two very easy-to-identify whales.
The first known matriarch of this group was Saddle. She had a check-mark-like saddle patch which gave her her name. It was a very distinctive saddle and made her easy to identify.
Before we knew Saddle, she was captured in Pender Harbour. There, she was held for an amount of time, and even trained a bit. Two of her children, A17 and A18, are known to have been taken into captivity, where they both died long ago.
Saddle had a deformity on her mouth, though, and the captors didn't want her. Along with other whales from her family, including Eve and Top Notch, she was released.
As soon as she was released, Saddle gave birth!
When the study began, Saddle traveled with her daughter Sharky. Sharky was another easy-to-identify whale. Her fin was sharp and thick like a shark's fin (hence the name), and her cheeky, bold behavior made her a favourite of researchers and whale-watchers alike.
In 1979, Saddle gave birth again, to a male. This calf was never named, but A15 was a constant companion to the other two well-known whales.
For the next few years, it was Saddle, Sharky and A15. Then, when Sharky was 15, she had her own child, Nodales.
In 1991, Saddle and A15 disappeared, at the same time, and were never seen again. Researchers were sorry to see the two much-loved whales go. Suddenly the A14s were the A25s!
In 1994, Sharky had her second and last calf, when Surge was born.
Then in 1997, Sharky too passed away. Everyone was surprised, because her age-group had the smallest mortality rating out of all of them. This was possibly the first time a mother had died and left such a young calf behind.
Nodales took care of her little brother, and the two became a familiar presence in the Strait.
In 2002, when the orphan Springer was re-released, Nodales took care of her for a long amount of time. It's possible that Nodales had a calf and then it died, which made her take Springer as a replacement.
When Springer moved on to her great-aunt's family, Nodales and Surge were alone once more.
The A25s are most easily identified by the nick in Nodales' fin. Soon, Surge will start to spout, making him easily identified. Nodales and Surge make a special call that lets researchers identify them specifically.
Recently, with the birth of Nodales' first confirmed calf, A85, the matriline was renamed the A51s.