The A9 matriline is interesting in that it is one of only a few matrilines to have died out during the study. It is certainly the most well known. All three of its whales were well known and well loved.

The small matriline's story began with Eve (A9), also commonly known as Scar. She was called this because there were great scars along her back from a previous encounter with a boat propellor.

Eve's two elder children, Licka (A8), and Top Notch (A5), were both captured along with Eve. Eve and Top Notch were captured twice and then released, and Licka at least once.
Licka split off and made her own matriline (see A8s), but Top Notch stuck by his mother like glue.
Top Notch was one of the most loved whales in the wild. Everyone was entranced by his huge fin, his stately manner, and the gentleness he took everywhere with him.
Only about a year before the study began, Eve gave birth for the last time, to Foster (A26).

For years after, the majestic threesome, the old matriarch and her two sons, were seen very often.
In 1990, however, Eve died, her body washed ashore and she provided us with a great insight into her species.
Top Notch and Foster were clearly at a loss after their mother's death. They wandered around, always close together. Researchers realized that the matriline would die out, since there were only males left.

In 2000, Top Notch died, and a year later his brother followed. That was the end of the A9 matriline, but they live on in the A8s.
The A9s, small as they might have been, made huge contributions to the research of wild orcas.