Bare Facts: Female ~ Born est.1927 ~ Died 1987 ~ Mother Unknown ~ Father Unknown ~ Children Tsitika, Wavy ~ ID Large nick near tip of fin; thin, very curved fin

Nicola, or A2, was the second whale identified in the study. The first whales identified were the ones that were easiest to identify. Nicola got her name from the large nick at the top of her fin, which made her easy to recognize. She was born around 1927.
When Nicola was first spotted, she was always accompanied by a large male with a big wavy fin, who was the third whale identified and cleverly called Wavy.
At first, it was assumed Wavy was Nicola's mate, but now that we understand whale society better, its generally assumed that he was her son.
Nicola seemed to be the 'dominant' whale of Johnstone Strait. The other pods generally waited for her to come and greet them before they entered the strait, and most of the northern residents let her lead them.
One researcher who got to know Nicola well was Paul Spong, whose experiences with her are described in the excellent book Song of the Whale by Rex Wiler.
In fact, most people who hung out with the whales knew Nicola well. She was ALWAYS around! She also seemed very accepting of humans and often came close.
Nicola's first child (that we know of) is Tsitika (A30), who was born around 1947. Tsitika is still alive and has a thriving, well-raised family. Nicola's only other known child was Wavy (A3), born around 1952.
Actually, that might not be true. In Orca: The Whale called Killer by Erich Hoyt, another calf of Nicola's is described. Apparently, this little one had white spots on its back and was born around 1977. Sadly, it didn't survive its first year. This was the first orca to die in the A1 pod that we knew of.
After Wavy died in 1979, the portrait of the A2s was of Nicola, the dominant grandmum, Tsitika the caring mother, and Tsitika's children-one daughter and three oddly protective sons.
Nicola was a much-loved whale, and after her death in the winter of 1987, the now-called-A30s gave up their dominant role. Sadly, Nicola, who seemed to be a good mother (after all, she raised Tsitika, a very successful and caring mother), never met her last grand-daughter, who was born only 2 years after her death.
Nicola is mentioned in practically all the books that call Northern Residents by their name.
There's a whole page about her in Alexandra Morton's autobiography, Listening to Whales: What the Orcas Have Taught Us, as well as a mention of her death. Also, in Alex's other book, In the Company of Whales: From the Diary of a Whale-Watcher, there is an explanation about Nicola's habit of 'checking the front door'.
When Nicola was in charge, her family seemed to be the ones who looked after everything. When another pod was going to enter the strait, somehow, Nicola and her family would show up, 'welcome' them, and then go on the way. We don't know if the whales could hear the other pod coming with their exceptional hearing, or Nicola's family would just check the 'front door' routinely.
One thing is for certain, Nicola was an exceptional mother, matriarch and all-around whale, and she lives on in her present family.