Above, the three boys (Plumper, Cracroft, Kaikash) from "Orcas in our Midst Volume 2" by Howard Garrett.

Officially, the A30s are the most common matriline in BC, but the A36s certainly come in a close second. Not to mention, they are well-known and VERY easy to identify. In fact, they have been since we began researching them.

The A36s were the pod that first began the study. When the researchers began to identify whales, they started with the easiest whales to identify. And the easiest, without a doubt, was Tulip. Named that because the ragged edge of her fin looked like tulip petals, her name was later changed to 'Stubbs'.

The first killer whale EVER identified, Stubbs became A1. She got her name for obvious reasons: her fin was practically lobbed off, probably from a collision with a boat propellor. She had a daughter, Sophia (A36), when she was 20, and a son, Hardy (A20), when she was 26. She died in 1974, when she was around 47; not old, but not young.

After the death of Stubbs, Sophia(A36) became the matriline of the group, and after Hardy(A20)'s death in 1992, the matriline consisted of only Sophia and her three sons, Cracroft (A32), Plumper (A37), and Kaikash (A46).

Sophia did have another calf besides the famous three boys; a girl, A44, born the year the study started. Sadly, A44 died two years later.

Unfortunately, Sophia also died in 1997, and now this matriline will die out because it only consists of males.

But that doesn't stop it from being popular! The A36s (because there are no more females, the matriline keeps Sophia's name) are still a well-known and much-loved pod. Cracroft, Plumper and Kaikash, known collectively as 'the brothers' or 'the boys', are easy to identify, consisting of only three towering fins. They've got some loyal fans on Orca-live!

And still, they're causing waves! The highlight of the 2004 Orca-Live season was the A36-porpoise incident, described on Cracroft's page. So, obviously, we haven't yet heard the last of this well-known family.